Newspapers / Daily Tar Heel (Chapel … / Jan. 23, 1984, edition 1 / Page 6
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6The Daily Tar HeelMonday, Janu.vy X 3Itj latlg ar 1 P75 ear o editorial freedom Kerry DeRochi, itar EDDIE WOOTEN, Managing Editor CHARLES ElLMAKFR, Associate Editor FRANK BRUNI, Associate Editor mi KELLY SIMMONS, University Editor KYLE MARSHALL, State and National Editor MICHAEL DESlSTI , Sports Editor Melissa Moore, News Editor Michael Toole, City Editor KAREN FlSHER, Features Editor Jeff Grove, a rts Editor CHARLES W. LEDFORD, Photography Editor ...or is it Memorex? Few students have videocassette recorders in their dorm rooms, but a recent Supreme Court ruling may affect more than one of you who use Mom and Dad's machine to tape All My Children or ACC Tournament games. The court ruled last week that home taping is not an infringement of copyright laws so long as the reshowing is not used for commercial pur poses. The court cited that congress, in a revision of the copyright laws in 1976, failed to mention VCR use, and until Congress makes a law one way or the other, the court would stand behind home tapers. It was a rul ing that bluntly faced new options open to consumers in an increasingly electronic environment. As Associate Justice John Paul Stevens wrote 'for the 5 to 4 majority, "Sound policy as well as history, supports our consistent deference to Congress when major technological innovations alter the market for copyrighted material." The monumental decision came about through a lawsuit against ;the Sony Corp. by Universal Pictures, which claimed that Sony was providing equipment with which to steal royalty profits from studios, producers and actors. Television and movie producers are concerned about profits lost to those who are building up their videotape libraries from movies shown on television. They are also concerned, though less so, about those who tape a show to be watched at a later date ("time shif ting' ) and then skip over the commercials. Despite the ruling, MCA Inc., the parent company of Universal, plans to do some strong lobbying in Congress to increase its and its competitors' copyrights. One proposal is to levy a "royalty tax" of several hundred dollars on all VCRs and of one or two dollars on each blank videocassette. The col lected revenues would be returned to the producers through a complex sharing formula. Such taxes could amount to billions of dollars returned to the producers each year: Sales of VCRs more than doubled between 1982 and 1983, to 4.2 million units, and sales of blank tapes skyrocketed from 24.7 million to 57 million the same year. Even taking into account the wave of new products, producers of movies and television shows have spent large amounts of money to create their programs, and their monetary rights must be preserved regardless of whether the shows are broadcast over the air. The royalty tax seems the best method of reimbursement without restricting the recording wishes of U.S. viewers. Taxing blank cassettes at a rate of $1 or $2 is reasonable considering the tapes are reusable. A high tax on the machines $200 per unit has been suggested would have dire effects, however, by pric ing some segments of the population out of the market. As "informa tion" becomes more a mainstay of our society, low-income families could lose out again because they would not have the convenience of "time shifting" television programming. When, and if, Congress approaches the problem, it should be mindful of the producers' rights but should not allow them to dictate who their audience will be. THE Daily Crossword ty John H. Male ACROSS 1 Pquofs ctpUtn 5 Sheriff's group 10 Mrtna unit, for short 14 Theater seat 15 Praise 16 Above 17 Math, division 18 Bullyrag 19 Green color 20 Heated exchange 22 Fine brandy 24 Letter opener 25 Neplus 27 Capital of Crete 30 Retainer -21 Pergola. 35 I tarsals. 36 Gastfbis and Persian 39 Heraldic pattern 40 Lindbergh's plane 43 Otherwise 44 Dahlor Francis 45 Child 46 Beginnings 48 Sloths 49 Long lock 51 Egyptian measure 53 Cedar Rap Ids school 54 Annual pay fpf pa- $7fxts&4 tjnee 65 JAaturattoh: agent 66 At hand 67 Eur. subway 68 Zhtvago's sweetheart 69 NY river 70 Nordic 71 Trees Yesterday's Puzzle Solved: TABAnEMAlNlDnslclAlMl PUTANENDTO Jfl E I N ETbTa S E FTTs EPARAT E CL-I Ioiiirogir. A . A JN S ASiJUNLESS JLA-NN-S SOLI 1 D.U.O. CLOD PTE RES !Tc 0 I R 0.1C.AR.L1N.HCE.UIA TtfK.IMlZSO.C.R.ATliS I E D EM AlT S E A S hTeDON I St ''SMEARS AS ON'iH ilU PS H 0 P lHQ !!!.iLt"iy.B.A IlIeIfItlJpirIaImIaUoImIeIni 1ZtM DOWN Pond plant Gardener at times Unbelieving Addle Ustinov the actor Bovines France's gift in NY harbor 8 Call for help Put into office Kind of court "Put the oven for..." 12 Falana of song 13 Energy bloc 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 9 10 11 21"Uoon Over-" 23t2outhdi Fatuf$$f . enough 29 Outcry 30 Plant treatises 32 Savage creature 33 Mixtures 34 Relaxes 37 Gr. letter 38 Stopping place: abbr. 41 Final warning 42 Pretend 47 Spanish lady: abbr. 50 Entertain sumptuously 52 Tense situation 53 Punctuation mark 54 Eat well 55 Concert halls 56 Meadows ' 58 IL money 59 Bedouin head cord 60 Specified period 61 Ages 64 For each 1 T" 3 4 I "5 6"7 8 9 W TT" TT 14 15 T6 " " 77 73 ' 75 "W " " 2P """" zF if" 24 """" """"" m" Is" T " ' ainpM'Tar" " M" " mmmm IT" irf"!!?"" 35 "" IT" 37 " " 38" """"" 39 40 "" 41 42" " 43 " . - 75 1 If ' 45 ' TT" 50" "" " TtT" iC """" """" """" sriM"i5r" "u sfieppp - y "" 15 " 67 68 7)9 73 71 "" "3 1984 Tribune Company Syndicate, Inc. All Rights Reserved 12384 Death penalty affirms value of human life By VANCE TREFETHEN The recent publicity surrounding the likely execu tion of James Hutchins and the entire issue of capital punishment has raised public awareness and provok ed numerous, often deeply emotional public responses. The case for or against capital punishment often seems cut and dried to those who espouse one view or the other, but often the arguments for both leave a great deal to be desired. The most frequently made, and perhaps best, argument against the death penalty is that the state has no right to take the life of a human being. But , this is flawed. The logical continuation of this line of reasoning requires us to also demand the unilateral dismantling of all other agents of government that -are em powered to kill, i.e. the military. The military has no other purpose for existing but for preparing and car rying but, if necessary, various actions that society deems appropriate, rightly or wrongly, for self defense, all of which necessarily involve the taking of life. Capital punishment, in this sense, serves as an internal self-defense mechanism, and is therefore justified the same way having an army is justified. Unfortunately, there are a large number of arguments in favor of capital punishment that are equally unacceptable. It is sometimes embarrassing to admit that you agree with a point of view that ' someone is taking when they argue it vehemently with points that are invalid. One of the more common reasons given in support of the death penalty is deterrence. If potential criminals know that they will be executed if they commit a certain crime, they will be less likely to do it, or so the theory goes. The problem is that most capital crimes are committed on impulse "crimes of passion," if you will. The person who has an argu ment with a friend or spouse and impulsively grabs a gun and shoots could probably be threatened with the most horrible and seemingly deterring punishments mankind could devise, and none of "them would stop him from pulling the trigger in that one moment of irrational behavior. Deterrence re quires rational thought, and rational thought does not precede these kinds of crimes. Perhaps the weakest argument for capital punish ment is that it saves money when compared to the cost of feeding and housing a criminal for the dura tion of a life sentence. If I believed capital punish ment were absolutely morally wrong, it wouldn't matter how much money could be saved, 1 would still oppose it. More important is the fact that the economic argu-' ment generally isn't true. Studies in New York State" indicate that the additional costs of legal fees, court time, appeals, death row security measures and various other administrative costs In capital punish ment cases frequently end up costing society more than it would cost to simply lock the offender up for life. Understanding the true reason for consistent ap-f plicatton of capital punishment requires an understanding of the reason societies have criminal justice systems at all. There are those who would contend that the purpose of the system is, or should be, to reform the offender, rather than to punish him. Those who favor reform generally oppose capital punishment because it gives no opportunity to reform the offender. This is consistent. If reform is the goal, doubtless there are countless thousands of people whose forced rehabilitation and reform could benefit society greatly. But government does not (and should not) simply round up people and try to reform them. Government, even when motivated by a reform attitude, only attempts to reform those who are guilty of some crime, i.e. those who deserve it. Even in the spirit of reform, there is a deeper sense of forcing the offender to undergo some involuntary ex perience because he deserves it, and not simply because his life could be improved by it. This is the true basis for a nation's possession of a criminal justice system: giving those who break socie ty's rules a punishment equal to what they deserve. In this way, society expresses its collective moral and social values. For example, if the penalty for stealing a car were a $5 fine, one could logically conclude that society does not value cars highly. If the penalty for murder is anything less than capital punishment, it reflects a societal view that human life is cheap, or that the life of some (the strong and aggressive who can and will kill people) is more valuable than the life of others (the innoncent and less aggressive), since in the end the aggressor lives and the innocent dies. Capital punishment is necessary to fulfill the purpose and goals of the criminal justice system, not for deterrence or for sav ing morieyTnything less demeans human life. , Vance Trefethen, a sophomore economics major from Bangor, Maine, is a staff writer for The Daily Tar Heel. LETTERS TO THE EDITOR ----- - Di-Phi Societies want you! To the editor: What is the most important knowledge we can obtain during our four years at UNC? Certainly, specific information vital to bur careers is of primary impor tance, but I feel the knowledge of proper communication skills far outweighs most other abilities in its values. Why? Because success in most fields is directly related to how well we express our thoughts and "opinions to others. In addition, through out life we're constantly judged by others on how well we present ourselves. Ben Jonson once said, "Language most shows a man: Speak that I may see thee." In the same way, how well we present ourselves to others can be responsible for better grades, new jobs and even stronger friendships. The Dialectic and Philanthropic Societies exist with the purpose of helping students acquire skill and confidence in the art of public speaking. Because of our sincere belief in the importance of effective oral communication, we would like to invite all students to our meetings each Monday night from 7:30 to 9 in 300 New West. If you wish to improve your ability as an orator, we hope you'll consider our or ganization, which offers both the oppor tunity for practice as well as constructive evaluation. Although public speaking is noted in the Book of Lists as the No. 1 phobia, Di Phi can help you conquer this fear through practice. To learn how to swim you can only study books and listen to lectures for so long. Eventually, you have to dive in! In the same way, anyone in terested in becoming more comfortable in front of audiences must speak before them frequently. Fortunately, Di-Phi is around to help. We're not expects just students who wish to become better com municators. All of us are trying to learn from one another and recognize how much courage it takes to stand and utter a single word;. It's probably this supportive nature of our group that has helped me as a growing speaker the most. After the initial fear of speaking in front of a group has diminished, we offer friendly and constructive evaluation to members. Through the use of an official evaluator as well as feedback from other members, we try to improve our presenta tions through more varied vocal variety as well as gestures. Obviously, the responsi bility for evaluation lies ultimately with the speaker, but by providing useful sug gestions we hope to assist the speaker in recognizing his own strengths and weak nesses as a communicator. Again, we hope all students will think about dropping in on one of our meet ings. Remember: New West 300 at 7:30 each Monday. Even if you can't make it tonight, we would love to hear from you and hope you'll get in touch with us. If you have any questions, please call my number is 933-8445. Let Di-Phi help you get the most out of college! Jim Slaughter, President Dialectic and Philanthropic Societies Clarifying the issue Spare yourself To the editor: If you're a little bored with Purdy's, a little nauseated by Hector's, or just find yourself with nothing to do tonight, check out the Ram Theatre for some good old-fashioned violence against women, Friday night, Pieces, a movie the National Organization of Women and other concerned groups have pro tested and had removed in New York, Chicago, and other cities across the coun try, had its first showing in Chapel Hill and will probably, despite protests, con tinue to run through Thursday. . ' Pieces is a brutal, gore-filled movie that is not recommended for those with weak stomachs andor an ounce of humanity. A college dean in Boston chainsaws women to their deaths and col lects their body parts to piece together, creating a facsimile of his mother whom he had axed to death as a young boy. It is this type of movie that plants the seeds in the minds of the maniacal. It was appalling to see, out of a very small au dience, the high percentage of men who came alone to the movie, sat in the front rows, and were mesmerized by the power ' depicted on the screen. Can you imagine the outrage had all the victims been Jewish, black or members of another .minority group? But, alas, as a friend so aptly put it, "Women are fair game." , So, for the mere price of $3.75, you, too, can see women decapitated, sawed in half.. ..But please, save your money. This type of thing should not be supported or condoned in any way. Teresa Lynch Avery Residence Hall Get a calculator To the editor: According to your editorial "License to kill" (DTH, Jan. 19), "In 1976, these new laws (concerning the death penalty) were tested and upheld by the Supreme Court. Yet nine years later,it's become apparent...." 1976 9 1985 I certainly hope that the writer can add better than this when he or she at tempts to get a real job. I guess it goes with Lucy (humanoid bone finds) be ing 3.5 billion years old and a com puter course in Sea Moss (CMOS). Have you no common sense? Charles Brewer Carrboro Editor's note: The DTH regrets the error. To the editor: I read Chris Kremer's letter to the editor, "More on SECS," (DTH, Jan. 18) at about 4:30 p.m. Wednesday after noon. At 5 p.m. I was on the phone with Kroner. We had a lengthy" discussion. My purpose in calling him was the shock ! received in reading the last paragraph of his letter. In that paragraph, Kroner said that the Sexuality Education and Counseling Ser vice is "secretive in much of what they do." He called our meetings "strategy" sessions. He said that they are not open, nor accessible to the general public. Kroner also said "often they meet at one of their 'counselor's' homes." The first major point is that Kroner told me that his information was from a year ago or more. He was often vague. In his last paragraph he was speaking of Human Sexuality Information and Counseling Service which preceded SECS and was composed of different people. Kroner, therefore, has misrepre sented the truth. I became involved with SECS, as did most of my fellow counselors, in September 1983. We spent last semester in training for our peer-counselor posi tions. We began with a weekend retreat at the Fleming Center in Raleigh, the pur pose of which was to broaden our mindset in order to create a truly non judgmental atmosphere for SECS. The reason SECS has a nonjudgmental approach is simply that SECS is a service to the UNC community. If someone is troubled about a relationship, he wants to turn to someone who will listen to him without condemning him. If a person wants condemnation there are several places one can go to get it. SECS is not one of those places. Instead, SECS' peer-counselor ap proach allows a person to speak freely and to ask for factual information. SECS also provides a referral service. As far as Kremer's concerns about SECS' pro ' choice stand on abortion, in our referral . service, SECS would be just as likely to refer a client to Pregnancy Support Ser vice as to an abortion clinic. It all depends on the individual client's wishes. SECS met twice a week last semester for training not "strategy." We had speakers from various organizations, such as Student Legal Services and CHEC, talk to us about factual informa tion as well as professional counselors speak to us about counseling technique. These meetings are not closed; we had several guests. Furthermore, SECS meets on the second floor of the Union pret ty accessible. SECS also does outreaches for various groups such as residence halls, fraternities and sororities. The subjects of these out reaches vary from values clarification to contraception information to labeling in society. Kroner said he had tried to at tend a SECS outreach, which in fact was a HSICS outreach a year ago, but was "rebuffed." The outreach was one at a women's dormitory and someone in some way gave him the idea that he probably should not go. He never got to the door. Kroner was again vague. Pertiaps the outreach was on a women's topic. In any case, he should have gone to it, instead ot letting hearsay stop him. I can understand Kroner being upset that his student fees are being spent on an organization of which he does not ap prove. However, in this university, thoe , are probably many people who fall into this category in one way or another. SECS exists to provide a valuable service to a great part of this community. The choice to use it is yours. SECS is open to everyone. Kroner said that the counselors at SECS include homosexuals and bisexuals. He forgot to mention heterosexuals as well. Every counselor at SECS is concerned with all human feelings of well-being. SECS is pro-choice on life. Arlaine Rockey Sexuality Education and Counseling Service ...even further 4K" JW WHATS600DFOR f nJI r2X f GENERAL MOTORS 1 till : ryo. " . .. ,- 1 iw' ' " - t 1 111 X Ai.-C 1 I ' X To the editor: It is difficult to know how to respond to the misleading diatribe on the Sexuality Education and Counseling Service (Chris Kroner, "More on SECS," DTH, Jan. 18). It seems that in his haste to label our counseling staff as an "ugly little group" and assert that "abortion promotion" is a major aim of SECS, Kroner reveals to DTH readers his own biases and confirms the fact that his analysis of Cindi Ross' article ("SECS provides a listening ear") was, at best, supoficial. During the past 1 Vi years that I have been involved with the service, I have never had the pleasure of meeting Kroner, yet it is apparent to me that he is indeed out of touch with the present reality of the situa tion. During that time, we have always held our meetings in the Carolina Union and publicized their times in the DTH not in "inaccessible places" nor of the "secretive" nature that Kroner claims. As to his blatantly false assertion that SECS "refuses to be accessible" to the student body, I invite him to call or stop 'by the office during our regular working hours. At SECS we do use a "nonjudgmental" approach in helping people find their own answos to prob lems. I find it to be a real asset in our work! Individuals who are trying valiant ly to deal with feelings of rejection or guilt don't need to be burdened with an additional person trying to convince them that they're "amoral" because their set of values don't happen to correspond to that of the conselor's. Homosexuals and bisexuals (as well as hetoosexuals) do constitute a portion of our staff a fact that I feel assists our overall effectiveness in working with peo ple of all persuasions. (If you woe going through rough times, wouldn't you want to speak with someone who understands your feelings?) I know that I'm biased, but I feel that the group of men and women who volunteer their time to SECS are some very special concerned and caring people who shouldn't be judged by a complete stranger. Brian Richmond, Director Sexuality Education and Counseling Service
Daily Tar Heel (Chapel Hill, N.C.)
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Jan. 23, 1984, edition 1
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