6The Daily Tar HeelFn-i iv January 25. 1985
Jeff Hiday, Editor
Joel Broadway, Managing Editor
Mark Stinneford, Associate Editor
Ben Perkowski, Associate Editor
Kelly Simmons, University Editor
Vance Trefethen , State and National Editor
Melanif. Wells, dty Editor
Dan Tillman, Business Editor
Lynn Davis, News Editor
Frank Kennedy, Sports Editor
Jeff Grove, Arts Editor
Sharon Sheridan, Features Editor
JEFF NEUVILLE, Photography Editor
LETTERS TO THE EDITOR
Ciiar Jim
92 nd year of editorial freedom
From hermaphrodite to eternity
University housing, or lack thereof,
is a problem that has faced UNC for
years, until this coming year or so
it seemed. It stands to reason that if a
school pours $6.8 million into a new
facility and stocks it with 500 beds, that
it could open its doors to 500 more
students, right?
Not exactly. Not yet, at least.
In the interests of renovation, students
in Aycock, Graham, Stacy, Everett and
Lewis dormitories will be uprooted next
year and placed in the new, unnamed,
mid-campus dorm upon its completion.
It's a bold move, sure to ignite a spark
or two. But it also shows foresight in
housing needs, and as such is worthy
of praise.
For incoming freshmen, this turn of
events won't make much difference, but
it will leave a scar or two on those
returnees. Certainly these students have
nothing to lose in the material sense: The
rent they pay will be equivalent to that
of their present digs, or some $200 less
than the projected $770 per semester for
the $6-million hall. But freshly painted
walls won't remove the tainted image of
housing from the eyes of many students
especially those living in Lewis.
Already feeling shafted by their
androgynous makeover for the fall
when the dorm will become co-ed
Lewis residents now face eviction
altogether. But the situation's not as bad
as it might seem. Housing officials have
pledged to group Lewis and other
residents in the new facility, due for
occupancy by October or November, by
floors thereby allowing them to retain
their identity in intramurals and in social
pursuits.
Housing, no doubt after weighing all
the options before it, has exhibited
sound reasoning in effecting these
renovations now, rather than waiting
several years when it would disrupt
occupancy even more. It might be easy
to suggest that these proposed changes
could be done in the space of several
summers instead maybe not five
dorms at once without interrupting
the school year. But, as Residence Hall
Association President Mark Stafford
points out, such a program would string
out renovations over eight or nine years,
rather than a neat, compact eight-month
period.
One can be truly grateful that the
University has a new, vacant dormitory
available to house its displaced students.
In other years, such an option wouldn't
have been available. For five North
Campus institutions that had gotten a
little old in the tooth Aycock, Graham
and Lewis have been a part of this
campus since 1924 1985 will be a year
of rest, but a time of renewal.
Death with dignity
On Jan. 17, the New Jersey Supreme
Court ruled on an issue that has caused
its fair share on controversy among
doctors, lawyers and ethicists alike. The
issue, "the right to die", concerns the
freedom of patients to refuse medical
care once it has become apparent that
they are terminally ill. In its decision,
the court decided that all life-sustaining
medical treatment, including feeding
tubes, can be withheld or withdrawn
from incompetent as well as competent
terminally ill patients, provided that is
what the patient wants or would have
wanted. The decision finally puts into
black and white was has been debated
and argued about for years. The ruling
is a good and reasonable one; other
states should follow New Jersey's lead.
The New Jersey case is but one of
many of the ethical-turned-legal prob
lems our society faces. Because of the
decision, perhaps New Jersey will be rid
of some of the red tape and ambiguity
that has surrounded the "right to die"
issue for too long now. Other states, such
as our own, prefer not to legislate such
an issue, but instead leave it up to
individual doctors and families to decide
the fate of the terminally ill patient.
Far too often, though, this proves
unfair to the patient, who wishes to die
with dignity but is not allowed to do
so. Families are frequently too emotion
ally involved in the situation to make
a decision that reflects the wishes of the
patient, or else have too little clout with
doctors who are more concerned about
malpractice suits than what is best for
the patient. Doctors, too, have long
struggled with the legal and moral
dilemma of whether to let a patient die,
while at the same time fulfilling their
Hippocratic oath of "do no harm." And
while the ethics of the "right to die" are
far from being resolved, the New Jersey
court decision at least straightens out
some of the tangles from the legal end
of things.
A uniform "right to die" law would
be beneficial to all parties involved,
especially the terminally ill patients'
families, who often suffer the most. In
the past, the family of a patient who
was brain dead and being kept alive by
a machine had no choice but to stand
by and watch. The Karen Ann Quinlan
case is the epitome of the fight families
sometimes have to go through to have
their wishes and those of the patient met.
People shouldn't have to go to court and
sue the doctor or the hospital treating
their relative to let their loved one die
in peace, but it happens. A uniform
"right to die" law would prevent this
from happening.
Doctors would also benefit from a
"right to die" law. As is is now, if a family
decides that a relative should be removed
from a respirator or given no medical
treatment, and then later changes their
mind, a doctor could be sued for
malpractice if the patient died. While this
is unfair, it explains why many doctors
are reluctant to allow their patients to
be "unplugged." With a uniform "right
to die" law, doctors will not have to face
potential malpractice suits while doing
what is best for the patient.
Finally, society would benefit from a
uniform "right to die" law. Society
spends millions of dollars a year trying
to keep the dying alive. In fact, over 28
percent of the $75 billion Medicare
budget (about $20 billion the equi
valent of what was spent on the unem
ployed in 1984) is spent to care for the
dying. If people are allowed to die with
dignity with no hassle from the courts
or the law, fewer people will be kept
alive by artificial means, and, as mer
cenary as it sounds, fewer tax money
will be spent trying to prolong a life that
is no longer really there.
While the medical community has
made enormous progress in preserving
life, there comes a time when even the
most advanced knowledge cannot help.
At this time, doctors and society must
recognize that patients who wish to do
so have the right to die with dignity.
A uniform "right to die" law would be
the best way to give terminally ill patients
that right.
A note to candidates
Each candidate for campuswide
office will be allowed a maximum of
two letters from supporters to be
printed in the Letters to the Editor
section of the editorial page. The
letters should be triple-spaced and
typed on a 60-space line. One of the
candidate's support letters may be
a maximum of 40 lines long; the other
may be no more than 20 lines long.
The Daily Tar Heel reserves the right
to edit letters that exceed the max
imum lengths but will make every
effort to work with candidates on
letters that require shortening.Dead
line for candidate endorsement
letters will be noon on Wednesday,
Jan. 30.
One final note: Endorsement inter
views to be held tomorrow for
candidates for student body presi
dent and DTH editor have been
moved from Frank Porter Graham
Lounge to Room 226 of the Carolina
Union.
Happy campaigning!
Here's what Parker won't tell you
To the editor:
In the first weeks of this semester
the DTH has printed two columns
by Student Body President Paul
Parker. Both have been informa
tive, well-written columns relevant
to issues that have recently been on
the minds of many students at UNC.
However, I feel that on the two
issues he addressed, he has failed
to see important points.
In his column telling students to
feel pleased about the Rams Club's
decision to let us have some better
seating in the Student Activities
Center ("No more Mr. Bad Club
ioi the foundation," Jan. II),
Parker asked us to change our
attitudes about the Rams Club and
look at the positive aspects of what
they have contributed to UNC. The
column did change some of my
views on the matter and I, like many
others, am glad to have a new, major
facility for watching basketball
games and other large University
events. I am also pleased that the
Rams Club is able to provide
scholarships to young athletes who
might otherwise have not come to
UNC. However, I think the Rams
Club has gotten its priorities wrong.
Surely Parker is able to see that the
large amounts of money given to
the Athletic Department would be
of more use to more students if it
were spent on the academic side of
life at UNC. I'm sure the gift to the
University of the SAC will benefit
a large number of students, but what
will it do for educational resources
here? Going to basketball games
there will not improve the standard
of degrees earned by students.
On the question of the mandatory
meal plan ("Clearing up questions
about The Plan," Jan. 23) that has
been receiving so much attention
from candidates who are after
Parker's job, I feel that the essential
point has been overlooked. UNC
should be a place where, so long
as one doesn't infringe upon the
rights of others, one can be free to
lead one's life in whatever way one
chooses. This should apply to any
aspect of life at UNC, be it academic
or otherwise. This freedom should
include the rights to decide where
one lives and where and how one
decides to eat. Anything compul
sory with regards to something as
basic as eating should be discour
aged and has more to do with life
at high school than at a university.
Both of Parker's letters were
commendable and I feel that they
attempted to clarify the issues
concerned; I hope my comments
point out aspects of those issues that
I believe he failed to address.
Scott Martin
Ehringhaus
Naivete
To the editor:
Jim Townsend's analysis on the
civil rights ordinance is off the mark
("Feminists, conservatives lead fight
against porn," Jan. 21). This ordi
nance allows the victims of porno
graphy (women) the right to sue the
pornographers for violating their
civil rights as female beings. This
ordinance was misrepresented as a
prohibitive law when in reality it
does not involve any sort of prior
restraint. Also, this ordinance does
not view pornography as obscenity,
but as the subjugation of women.
. If a women is raped and the rape
is filmed the woman has the' power
to prosecute the rapist, but she does
not have the power to have the film
of her rape taken off the market.
This ordinance empowers the
woman to remove the permanent
record of her sexual abuse from the
public view.
Pornography is an $8 billion
business a major investment by
men to keep women in subjugated
positions through exploitation. It is
rather naive to think that this or
any other mere ordinance concern
ing women's civil rights would bring
this multimillion dollar industry to
a screeching halt.
Margie Walker
Chairperson
Association for Women Students
My Lord?
To the editor:
I recently discovered that the
name, "The Commons," has been
given to the latest contribution to
on-campus dining.
Does this mean that the upstairs
in Lenoir Hall will be renamed,
"The Lords?" Will one have to be
the son or daughter of UNC alumni
to inherit the right to eat in the upper
house? Will one have to be an
elected member of a campus organ
ization to eat in the lower house?
Andrew Balgarnie
Chapel Hill
Among the ridgetop wolves
By EDWINS.
JAMES
You won't believe this.
Fact is, I was driving through
all this frigid, stormy weather in
the Carolinas somewhere out there
in the western mountains several
weeks ago. It seemed the temper
ature would never bottom out
bleak, raw and record-breaking,
you know.
Suddenly, there waving at me
wildly thorugh the blowing snow
stood a figure apparently in
distress. Of course, I stopped and
picked him up.
Dapper little fellow, he was.
Looked like he had just stepped
out of Brooks Brothers
Russian-type fur cap, Scottish
tweed overcoat and the most
expensive cowboy boots a man
ever laid eyes upon. He told me
he had them custom made in the
most exclusive bootery in
Houston.
Had sort of a sharp, sly face,
though, he did.
"Man," I said, "What in glory
be you doin' out in this weather?"
"Lookin' at the finest piece of
property you ever saw this side of
Maggie Valley. Storm sort of
caught me by accident. Sure was
a pretty site that right along
the top of the ridge finest place
in the world for a major condom
inium complex."
Then he went into the financial
details and his ultimate profit in
sale and removal of lumber, the
most economical speculation con
struction possible, etc., etc.
"That's all4ine. Mister," I told
him, "but I can hardly see in all
this snow. Stick yer head out that
window a bit and watch the road
for me."
That is when he saw the wolves.
And, hell, you won't believe it, I
saw 'em, too, whole pack of 'em
live, snarliest varmits with the
biggest fangs and wide-open red
dest mouths drippin' with wilder-
Stalking a mountainside near yoi
ness. Never saw anything like it
in North Carolina, or, for that
matter, in South Carolina.
That fellow, he stopped talkin'.
I got that old buggy of mine
goin' like she never went before.
Old wheels just spinnin' off. Got
to spinnin' in all that snow, going
so hard they began to smoke.
But the wolves were gaining on
us at every jump, teeth agnashin'
and mouths afoamin' and the
wildest fire in their eyes. Frightens
me just to think about it now.
Next thing I know those wolves
were all over us.
I didn't have any choice. I didnt
know who that other fellow was.
He sure talked a whole heap about
makin' money, deals, gettin' in and
gettin' out safe. Fact is, I didn't
'specially like the man. Didn't
know him anyway.
Well, there wasn't anything else
I could do. Those hungry wolves
were all over. I took the stranger
by the neck and pitched him out.
Just as he hit the snow I heard
him yell, "I'm a real estate
developer!"
Well, you would have thought
those wolves would have torn that
poor man to death. Made me sort
of sick to look back. I just didn't
want to see him torn to pieces
before my eyes.
But you know I saw it. They
didnt.
They were all shaking hands
with him and calling him brother
and asking him what church he
went to and how was business
down in the Piedmont.
And, you know, I still can't
believe it. I didn't know there were
any wolves still in the Carolinas.
Edwin S. James, UNC Class of
'47, lives in Rock Hill, S.C., and
frequently writes The Daily Tar
Heel to report on his adventures.
The Great Card Swap: a logical plan for The Plan
To the editor:
Recently the DTH has been the
scene of various and sundry proc
limations and positions, debates and
denounciations, examinations and
explanations concerning that ubiq
uitous non-issue: the new $100
mandatory meal plan. At the risk
of denying student body president
candidates anything with which to
arouse the interest of students, it is
time to forward a logical solution
(a solution that I surmise many have
already been pondered) for all those
eminently sensible scholars who
avoid ARA Food Services like a
dentist's chair.
This suggestion is based upon the
assumption that ARA will retain the
current system of meal cards for
next year. If any change is impend
ing, no one has troubled themself
to inform the student body, but that
is a topic for some other letter.
Nonetheless, if the present system
is retained it seems quite simple and
rational for students who do not
desire or need the mandatory meal
plan to sell their meal card to a
student who normally buys a $100
plus plan.
So all of you prospective, dissent
ing mandatory plan holders, start
to track down someone who intends
to buy a $300-$500 plan. Conver
sely, those dorm dwellers who
propose to buy a $100-plus plan
might line up a few mandatory plan
holders to do business with. In fact,
a kind of meal card co-op could be
set up by some campus organization
for prospective meal card buyers
and sellers, but such a system is by
no means necessary. If indeed the
ARA system is changed to preclude
this solution then this letter will
prove to have been a waste of time,
but if not, then perhaps some people
will be happier and we all will be
spared further fretful hand-wringing
and angry gnashing of teeth.
Jeff A. Taylor
Carrboro
World and nation
"There must be no wavering by
us, nor any doubts by others, that
America will meet her responsibil
ities to remain free, secure and at
peace. "
President Reagan, opening his
second term Monday in an inau
gral address in which he restated
his themes of limited government
and strong defense. Reagan spoke
during ceremonies moved inside
the Capital Rotunda because of
bitter cold outdoors.
"These are very good numbers.
Virtually every category showed a
relatively modest increase in
prices. "
Karen Wasserman, an econo
mist at Chemical Bank, comment
ing on figures released Monday by
the Labor Department that
showed inflation was held , to 4
percent last year. Meanwhile,
figures released Tuesday showed
the economy grew at a rate of 6.8
percent last year, the best perfor
mance in more than 30 years.
" feel a great sense of solidarity
with all of you. I want you to know
I feel these days, as never before,
the momentum is with us. "
President Reagan, encouraging
more than 71,000 pro-life demon
strators who marched in Washing
ton to mark the 12th anniversary
of the Supreme Court decision
making abortion legal. Speaking
by phone and sound system to the
demonstrators who braved a
Week Qui Review
numbing cold, Reagan warned,
however, that bombings against
abortion clinics could only hurt
the anti-abortion cause.
"We're on third base now. But
what is missing is the
mastermind. "
Agapito Aquino, commenting
on the arrest of the Philippine
armed forces chief of staff and 25
others in the 1983 assassination of
Aquino's brother, opposition
leader Benigno S. Aquino. Oppo
sition members welcomed the
development but insisted that
Philippine President Ferdinand
Marcos was behind the
assassination.
"I'm sorry for what happened. I
still feel afraid. "
Harold Brown, a 68-year old
Chicago plumber, discussing the
incident last week in which he shot
and killed a knife-wielding man
who attempted to rob him. Brown
turned himself in Monday, but
police declined to bring charges.
Authorities say they believe Brown
used "reasonable force" in fending
off two men who attempted to rob
him as he carried his groceries
home. Brown shot the knife
wielding man three times, and
another attacker, who was carry
ing a gun, fled the scene.
State and local
"I enjoyed serving with him
because I knew exactly where he
was coming from. He was a very
hard worker who was also highly
opinionated. "
Chapel Hill Town Councilman
Bill Thorpe, remembering late
Councilman Winston Broadfoot.
The colorful Broadfoot, who was
64, died at his home who died of
natural causes on Tuesday
evening.
" knew Mother Nature was going
to get revenge for that warm
December. Climatology-wise, this
isn 't supposed to happen. But it 's
happening. "
Larry Datillo, a forecaster with
the National Weather Service at
the Raleigh-Durham Airport,
describing the unusual weather
conditions that brought two inches
of snow to the Triangle and then
followed it up with the coldest day
recorded in the state. The 9 degrees
below zero recorded at the
Raleigh-Durham Airport shat
tered the previous record of 2
below set in 1899.
Campus
"We were really dedicated to
getting someone from outside the
University. We wanted a star
quality, an image of intelligence.
We wanted to create some
enthusiasm. "
Genevieve Coombs, chairman
of the graduation committee,
explaining the selection of CBS
News correspondent Charles
Kuralt to deliver the 1985 com
mencement address. Kuralt, editor
of The Daily Tar Heel in 1954
55, is the first commencement
speaker in at least a dozen years
who is not an honorary degree
recipient or a member of the
University faculty.
"Most people were real excited
about it. A lot of people started
to play in the snow as soon as they
saw it. "
Deborah Simpkins, a senior
from Asheboro, describing stu
dents' reaction to the snowfall that
greeted them as they came out of
ticket distribution at Carmichael
Auditorium Sunday. About 2
inches of the frozen white stuff fell
on the Chapel Hill area before
tapering off at about middday.
Sports
" hadn't performed very well
recently and I hadn 't been concen
trating well. I just wanted to do
my part. "
UNC center Brad Daugherty,
talking to reporters after tying his
career record by scoring 28 points
as the Tar Heels vanquished a
surprisingly tough Jacksonville
Univeristy team, 74-68. The win
pushed UNC's record to 14-3.