6The Daily Tar Heel Friday, September 12, 1986
94th year of editorial freedom
JlM ZOOK, Editor
Randy Farmer, Managing Editor
ED BRACKETT, Associate Editor
DEWEY MESSER, Associate Editor
Tracy Hill, News Editor
GRANT PARSONS, University Editor
LINDA MONTANARI, City Editor
JILL GERBER, State and National Editor
Scott Fowler, sports Editor
KATHY PETERS, Features Editor
ROBERT KEEFE, Business Editor
Elizabeth Ellen, Am Editor
DAN CHARLSON, Photography Editor
Hdlfafligillg
Keep politics out of the fight
Debate among Congressmen this
week about the year's hottest media
story typifies the re-election mindset:
Find a sexy issue that guarantees
exposure to the voters and run with
it
Questions surrounding drugs in
American society have dominated the
national media for months. Coverage
of the scourge has been so prevalent
that some journalists are wondering
if the publicity is, as a July article in
The New Republic asked, "discourag
ing potential users, or piquing their
intent?"
This week, the interest of Congress
men has not only been piqued, but
commandeered as a junkie is gripped
while searching for his next high. On
Thursday, the House overwhelmingly
approved a bill that would, among
other things, require the use of the
military and reinstate use of the death
penalty for certain drug-related
offenses.
The uncommon hastiness with
which proposals have been ushered
through both the House and Senate
raises doubts about whether this
legislation is designed to catch crooks
or attract constituents.
"That's my fear, that it's a passing
fancy," U.S. Rep. Leon E. Panetta,
" D-Calif., said Wednesday about his
assessment of where the drug law issue
could potentially go after Nov. 4
trampled by the next issue bandwagon.
The wave of what stories are hot and
which ones are not ebbs and flows.
Describing the nation's drug problem
as the top deterrent to national security
may sound melodramatic, but it is not
an easily disputed viewpoint. The
tremendous influx of drugs must be
stemmed.
Patchwork measures passed in the
heat of campaigns that throw money
at the situation will not cure the
"epidemic," as some people have
labeled it. At least some of the
programs being discussed are good
ones, such as increased funding for
federal and local drug enforcement
and federally subsidized drug educa
tion programs.
But the validity of several suggested
programs has come under fire. A
Washington Post editorial Thursday
rightfully questioned, for example, the
proposed commissioning of a study of
the relationship between drugs and
highway safety.
More effective programs must be
funded after the elections programs
that escape the Gramm-Rudman ax
if this blight is to be erased.
Hysterics alone won't erase the threat
posed by drugs.
A bad example to set
The timing is ironic. In the same
week the State Budget Office has asked
the 16 institutions in the University of
North Carolina system to prepare for
a possible budget cut, the office's
manual is found to allow state
employees to be reimbursed for free
hotel rooms.
The issue surfaced when The News
and Observer reported Thursday that
A. Craig Phillips, state superintendent
of public instruction, received 10
nights free lodging during a conven
tion at Asheville's Grove Park Inn
and collected $441 from the state to
cover the "expenses." Nine other
members of the state's Department of
Public Instruction have also stayed in
free hotel rooms while attending
business meetings and then billed the
state.
And it's all legal, since the State
Budget Office switched from a reim
bursement to an allowance system for
state employee business expenses.
Under the rules, an employee may
collect $32 per night for lodging,
regardless of the actual cost.
Of course, situations arise when the
system does not work to the
employee's benefit, when a $32 hotel
room might not be found. But that
gives state employees, particularly
those as high ranking as Phillips, no
right to charge taxpayers for free
rooms. Those complimentary rooms,
by the way, are often given by hotels
after a minimum number of lodgings
are booked.
It's not the amount of money
involved (about $3,000) that is disturb
ing. But the attitude of state officials
who would charge the state for
lodgings they did not have to pay for
is disconcerting. The fault lies not so
much with the employees as with the
budget rules, which practically encour
age them to do so.
The rules are prepared by the same
office which asked the UNC system
to prepare a 3 percent budget cut for
the upcoming fiscal biennium. Though
officials said the request was made to
identify "marginal programs," it
created worries about possible cuts in
income for the school system.
Maybe the budget office should
look in its own guidelines for ways to
identify "marginal programs" before
turning attention elsewhere.
The Daily Tar Heel
Editorial Writer: Kathy Nanncy
Editorial Assistant: Nicki Weisenscc
Omnibus Editor: Sallie Krawchcck
Assistant Manajinj Editors: Jennifer Cox, Amy Hamilton, Donna Leinwand and Jean Lutes.
News: Lisa Allen, Andrea Beam, Rick Beasley, Helene Cooper, Michelle Efird, Jennifer Essen, Jeannie
Fans, Scott Greig, Mike Gunzenhauscr, Maria Haren, Nancy Harrington, Suzanne Jeffries, Teresa
Knegsman, Laura Lance, Scott Larsen, Alicia Lassitcr, Mitra Lotfi, Jackie Leach, Brian Long, Guy
Lucas, Karen McManis, Laurie Martin, Toby Moore, Kathy Nanney, Felisa Neuringer, Rachel Orr,
Gordon Rankin, Liz Saylor, Valerie Stegall, Rachel Stiffler, Elisa Turner, Laurie Willis and Bruce
Wood. Jo Fleischer and Jean Lutes, assistant university editors. Donna Leinwand, assistant state and
national editor.
Sports: Mike Bcrardino, James Surowiecki and Bob Young, assistant sports editors. Bonnie Bishop,
Greg Cook, Phyllis Fair, Laura Grimmer, Louise Hincs, Greg Humphreys, Lorna Khalil, Eddy Landreth,
Mike Mackay, Kathy Mulvey, Jill Shaw and Wendy Stringfellow.
Features: Eleni Chamis, Jeanie Mamo, Katie White and Susan Wood.
Arts: James Burrus, Alexandra Mann and Rob Sherman.
Photography: Charlotte Cannon, Larry Childress, Jamie Cobb, Tony Deifcll and Janet Jarman.
Copy Editors: Karen Anderson, assistant news editor. Dorothy Bans, Beverly I mes, Lisa Lorentz, Sherri
Murray and Sally Pearsall.
Editorial Cartoonists: Adam Cohen, Bill Cokas and Trip Park.
Easiness and Advertising: Anne Fulcher, general manager; Patricia Benson, advertising director; Mary
Pearse, advertising coordinator, Angela Ostwalt, business manager; Cammie Henry, accounts receivable
lerk; Evt Davis, odwnising manager. Ruth Anderson, Jennifer Garden, Kelli McElhaney, Chrissy
Mennitt, Beth Merrill, Anne Raymer, Julie Settle, Peggy Smith, Kent Sutton, Ashley Waters, and
lyne Poole wrtising representatives; Tammy Norris, Angie Peele, Stephanie Chesson, classified
odwriising rcpresematn'ex; Mindelle Rosenberg, office manager and Mary Brown, secretary.
Distribtkmcirculaton: William Austin, manager.
Prodectkm: Brenda Moore and Stacy Wynn. Rita Galloway, production assistant.
rrinrtrtg: The Chapel Hill Newspaper .
Diplomacy 9 mot .-bombs for Libya
Although there are rumors in the
media that President Reagan may
order another attack on Libya in the
near future, I oppose another American
bombing of the country. I wish the president,
for once, would allow common sense to
dictate prudent and appropriate actions.
"The Great Communicator" has an
amazing ability to capture and exploit the
confidence of the American public. This
time, he's used that ability to convince
Amencans that Libyan leader Col. Moam
mar Gadhafi is more dangerous and
threatening than he actually is. The president
is, in this respect, paranoid which, in
combination With his apparent senility, is.
dangerous. In my judgment, Reagan is one
of the most dangerous men in the world,
and his narrow scope on Libya and its
unpredictable motives is in itself a threat
to our national security and interests.
It is likely that Gadhafi is a dangerous
man, but he by no means merits the attention
Reagan's been giving him. Why is this
country rapidly becoming the target of the
Arab world? Unless the present leadership
in Washington is soon replaced by leaders
concerned with promoting peace and
harmony for the sake of mankind, a
bloodbath in the Mediterranean will become
imminent.
I believe that the main reason Reagan and
Gadhafi do not get along lies with the United
States' allegiance to Israel. Reagan feels that
his strong support for Israel is biblically
justified. Is the Bible the reason so many
people feel that Jews are the original
inhabitants of Palestine?
If so, they should examine the book of
Genesis. According to the passage, God
promised the land of Canaan (or Palestine)
to Abraham, ancestor of both Arabs and
Jews. Moreover, the promise was made on
the occasion of the circumcision of Ishmael,
Abraham's older son and ancestor of the
Arabs before the birth of Isaac, Abra
ham's second son and ancestor of the Jews.
I do support Israel but, unlike Reagan,
I believe the Palestinian Arabs have a right
to self-determination and nationhood. This
is the core of Middle East terrorism;
Palestinian Arabs resort to terrorism
because.they, unlike Israel, lack the political
institutions and efficacies to voice corisol-
Guest Writer
idated grievances. Palestinian terrorists,
whom some scholars call "freedom fighters,"
want their grievances redressed. This is the
only way to curtail terrorism substantially
bombing Libya is not.
Gadhafi only wants to unify the Arab
world and promote solidarity. Simultane
ously, however, the Reagan administration
has its own selfish interest in the Arab world,
namely economic gain in strategic areas,
which only results in greater conflict.
Gadhafi will probably avenge the killing
of his adopted daughter. As the honorable
Jimmy Carter said: "If . . . someone had
killed Amy, I would not have rested until
her killer was punished." I might add that
the reason Gadhafi is rather quiet now is
because he is planning retaliation against
American interests in Europe or against
major American cities.
I am an advocate of peace not at the
expense of war, but at the expense of
effective and much-needed diplomacy.
Peace cannot and will not be achieved by
staging bomb raids on Libya to demonstrate
military superiority. The bombing of Libya
just might culminate in World War III
before the year 2000.
Whether there will be Armageddon in the
Middle East may depend upon the leader
ship in Washington. So Ronald Reagan
who proved himself a terrorist by ordering
military attacks on innocent civilians in
Libya should be dismissed from office.
After all, he did violate the War Powers
Act by ordering the bombing without
adequate Congressional approval. Reagan
has also frightened Americans to the extent
that many are afraid to travel abroad.
Negotiations with Libya are vital to world
peace and stability. John F. Kennedy, the
greatest of American presidents, once said,
"We should never negotiate out of fear, but
let us never fear to negotiate." Yet Reagan
maintains that he has no intentions of
negotiating with terrorists. Well, why does
the president support Contra-terrorists in
their quest to overthrow the Sandinistas in
Nicaragua? Likewise, the president supports
the terrorist Pretoria regime in South Africa,
a country which oppresses blacks by denying
them the opportunity and right to participate
in the political structure and fate of the
government.
Any future bombing would have
serious repercussions, just as the
April attack did. On the Wednesday
after the bombing, for example, an Amer
ican diplomat in Khartoum, Sudan, was shot
in the head. The next -day, two British
citizens and an American CIA agent were
kidnapped and executed. Nonetheless, in the
wake of the attack on Libya, moderate Arab
governments joined radical nations in
condemning the American attack. Saudi
Arabian officials said the attack "ran counter
to all international norms," while Egyptian
officials viewed the attack "with anxiety and
deep concern."
Attacking Libya was not only an act of
war, aggression and arrogance, but it
obviously added more fuel to the fire of
worldwide instability. Reagan's laughter and
jokes of the bombing's aftermath can be
equated to a fiddle-playing Nero's thrill of
watching Rome burn.
Allow me to clear the air on who is
actually the major perpetrator of terrorism
in the Arab world. Syria is much more
supportive of terrorism than Libya. Libya,
in fact, has been the victim of terrorism,
too. Fairly recently, Libyan diplomats in
Beirut, Rome and Madrid were kidnapped.
But because Syria is the Soviet Union's main
ally in the Arab World and a vital part of
Middle East peace efforts, Libya became the
scapegoat.
Reagan should remember the proverb,
"To err is human; to forgive, divine," and
re-establish diplomatic relations with Libya.
But Reagan is Reagan, so he probably won't.
If that's the case, he should relinquish his
position as president.
Keith Cooper is a junior International
Studies major from Windsor.
Drug conference
To the editor:
Cocaine it's a CON! Make
the connection. The University
of North Carolina at Chapel
Hill, CHAPS Health Services,
Inc. and The Justice Founda
tion of North Carolina are
sponsors of The Cocaine Con
nection Conference on Friday
and Saturday at Hotel Europa
in Chapel Hill. (The conference
began Thursday.) Highlights of
the conference will include
renowned speakers from the
sports and medical field,
including Mercury Morris,
former Miami Dolphins foot
ball player; Mike Helms,
former Wake Forest University
basketball standout, impri
soned on cocaine charges;
Omar Aleman, Miami Drug
Enforcement Agent; and Dr.
Donald Jacinski, with NFL
drug testing.
The conference's main objec
tive is to educate and raise the
awareness level about the grow
ing use of cocaine in the Carol
inas. For some years, cocaine
has been "the drug of choice"
for the wealthy and social elite,
but it has now invaded all
segments of our society. How
is it affecting our young people,
our future leaders? Drugs in
sports how do I know
someone is a user? These and
many other questions will be
answered.
The conference's education
goal is composed of a . triangu
lar model treatment team
(medical professionals), educa
tors (health officials, teachers,
coaches, counselors), and law
enforcement. It is the advisory
committee's intention to pro
vide the conference participants
with necessary resources to
establish drug programs
throughout the state.
Only when North Carolini-
j
FREEDOM OF I I WITHIN LIMITS, i --s
v r 7 Torn dtii
sl"' RHJG10N r. PRESS
f" "gg? r
ans acknowledge that a drug
problem exists in their very
own communities can steps be
taken to conquer it.
STEVE ZORN
Senior
Interdisciplinary Studies
Embarrassment
To the editor:
I am embarrassed. I am not
embarrassed that I went to
UNC, and this is not addressed
to most of you reading The
Daily Tar Heel. But I think you
do know what I am talking
about Aug. 3f, 1986, Frank
lin Street.
I was there the night we won
the NCAA Championship and
turned Franklin Street blue.
That was fun we were
celebrating and everyone knew
it and partied with us. But that
Sunday night was ridiculous
and disgusting.
Yes, I realize you were pro
testing the loss of a time
honored tradition and right,
but if you are too immature to
control yourselves, you are
certainly too immature to be
trusted with a dangerous drug.
I disagreed with the new law
upping the drinking age, at
least until I saw you on the
news. You showed me that the
law might be right after all.
I was also there in 1980,
when several thousand univer
sity students were massacred in
Kwangju, Korea, for a consid
erably less violent protest
against the loss of another right
their right to vote in a free
election. You have all just
shown me the difference in your
priorities.
I am embarrassed. I hope
you are, too.
MARY HUNTLEY
WAGNER Fayetteville
The Week
A collection of notable quotes for the
week ending Sept. 12, 1986
NATIONAL
INTERNATIONAL
"What we did is, we caught somebody
a Soviet diplomat in the United States,
a person attached to the U.N. spying.
We arrested him. We will proceed under
U.S. law. And then a few days later a
newsman who was going about his business
as a newsman was arrested on trumped-up
charges."
Larry Spe&kes, White House spokes
man, on Nicholas Daniloff, an American
reporter in Moscow whom the Soviet Union
has accused of spying.
"No act of violence or aggression could
have been so inhuman, so insane, so cruel. "
Jak Veissid, legal adviser to Istanbul's
chief rabbi, about the slaughter of 21 people
in a terrorist massacre at Istanbul's largest
synagogue last Saturday.
"I knew the end was coming when the
lights went dark and I pushed the children
down on the floor and covered them with
my body."
Zeba Hamid, a passenger on Pan Am
Flight 73, which was hijacked last Friday
in Pakistan by four Palestinians. The
hijackers killed 15 people and injured 127.
STATE LOCAL
"( He was) a man of great compassion and
deep human understanding. His leadership
as chairman of the board of trustees and
his role as a political leader in the state
clearly manifest his great qualities of service
to his fellow man. "
William C. Friday, former president
of the UNC system, about Skipper Bowles,
who died Sunday at 66. Bowles led a fund
raising drive for the Dean E. Smith Activities
Center that earned $38.5 million.
"I could care less what they do in their
bedroom. We all have sexual preferences,
but should we have to pay for someone
else's?"
Anna Critz, Students For America vice
chairman, explaining why the SFA is
circulating a petition to have students decide
about CGLA funding.
AND SO FORTH
" was told that I was possessed by a
demon."
William Yarbrough, a junior RTVMP
major from Clemmons, about his "unique"
style of dressing.
" was not mad. I was determined that
they weren V going to get away. "
Marcia Sparliez of Michigan, who,
when she returned home recently and found
three burglars in her house, chastised them
so strenuously that they returned her
belongings and waited on the couch for
police to arrive.
Compiled by Editorial Assistant Nicki
Weisensee. a sophomore journalism major
from Laurinburg.
i