1986
5ar Mni
94 th year of editorial freedom
SDI stance shows no good faith
Central to the breakup of the
Reykjavik summit was President
Reagan's unyielding stance on his
Strategic Defense Initiative. The
Reagan administration has already
begun defending the program and
explaining why the meeting ended on
a somewhat grim note.
: But Reagan must also explain how
SDI would benefit the United States
when its targets ballistic missiles
should have already been voluntarily
dismantled by the Soviet Union.
: In an address to the nation Monday,
the. president confirmed that he and
Gorbachev agreed to eliminate nuclear
weapons within the next 10 years.
During this time, the United States
would continue to abide by the 1972
Anti-Ballistic Missile Treaty, which
forbids either side to test or deploy
systems designed to destroy missiles.
Gorbachev sought to "strenghten" the
treaty, and wanted to allow only
extremely limited laboratory research
on SDI. Reagan resisted, and the talks
came to a halt.
In the same breath that he told the
American people Monday the world
might have one day been nearly free
of nuclear weapons, Reagan explained
the eventual stalemate in Iceland with
words that may prove haunting: "In
effect, he (Gorbachev) was killing SDI,
and unless I agreed, all that work
toward eliminating nuclear weapons
would go down the drain cancelled.
. . . There was no way I could tell our
people their government would not
protect them against nuclear
destruction."
Thus, just as he and general secre
tary had arrived at a plan to cleanse
Hoop
Back to Square (or Cube?) One
Remember the "In Search Of. . ."series?
Host Leonard Nimoy would lead
viewers through the haze surrounding a
mystery and, after the second or third
commercial break, suggest a solution to the
puzzle. He had a knack for explaining in
detail such anomalies as Stonehenge or the
Lost Colony, without ever once saying,
"Well, folks, this announcer is just full
blown, Gonzo confused."
Nimoy, however, has failed to address
one of the great local mysteries of the 20th
century namely, why the structure called
"the Cube" between the Pit and the Student
Union is so dubbed.
This would perhaps be understandable
if the Cube at least resembled an non
spherical solid. We wouldn't even quarrel
if it had less than six sides, or if each of
those sides were different sizes. Sure, Daniel
Webster might start spinning in his grave
about the whole thing, but this is the 'SOs,
and one must be flexible.
But the Cube pardon the grammar
here, English profs, but we use it for
emphasis don ' even come close to being
an actual cube or any of its close or distant
relatives. The structure has the requisite six
sides, sure, but, since it doesn't even qualify
as a rectangular solid, this fact is insignif
icant. The Cube is more like a huge
brochure made out of plywood and se't on
its edge.
JIM ZOOK, Editor
Randy Farmer, Managing Editor
ED BRACKETT, Editor
Dewey Messer, Ixxocm Etoor
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
their countries of most nuclear weap
ons, Reagan backed off, for reasons
still unclear. The president says he
wants to abolish nuclear weapons, yet
he also wants to retain some version
of SDI, feeling it would protect the
United States from nuclear
devastation.
But, assuming that the two sides
agreed to go ahead with the arms
reduction proposal, devastation from
what nuclear weapons? If both sides
complied with the agreement, neither
would have enough warheads to
launch a missile attack on the other.
It is obvious, then, that what the
president really was concerned about
was that the Soviets would cheat.
For superpower negotiations to
succeed, each side has to approach the
table with good faith, believing that
the other will offer only what it will
deliver. Reagan has never displayed
any good faith in the Soviet Union's
intentions. He has repeatedly criticized
the Soviet's research of ballistic missile
defense and has claimed several times
that they violated arms control agree
ments, especially limits on missiles.
In seeking to retain SDI to defend
against what might have become non
existent, the president revealed once
again his belief that the Soviet Union
will never comply with arms control
agreements. With this mentality, how
could agreements ever be possible?
The proposals of both sides still
stand and the chance persists that
sweeping arms reductions will mate
rialize. But first, the president must
adopt a more open-minded approach,
one that would not render any accord
meaningless and useless.
The Boltom Line
The upcoming addition of two more
panels to the structure promises to further
confound any efforts to compare the Cube
with its namesake shape, as indicated by
Jeannie Mitchell, Student Union president,
who described the top view of the new
structure. "ItH look like a stick . person's
body, only with two legs drawn on top
instead of the head," she said.
"It might be called the Cube forever, in
whatever shape or form it eventually takes,"
she despaired. The Union may sponsor a
renaming contest, she said, but the name
won't be changed "unless something great
comes along."
And what names have the muses dropped
on members of the Union Activities Board?
"Nobody has any ideas," Mitchell said.
"Maybe something with 'hex,' since it'll
have ten sides."
If you're similarly perplexed, we advise
caution before heading to Mr. Roget for
help. The thesaurus' entries for "cube" fail
to segue into more appropriate synonyms,
leaving the reader back at Square (or is
it Cube?) One.
We're convinced this one would have a
befuddled, ill-mannered Nimoy demanding
that Scotty beam him up.
Tar HeeJ fans could be
'hen a Sports Illustrated photo-
rapher visited the Southern Part
Heaven to snap some shots of
our own Joe Wolf, 5,000 high-spirited, loud
cheering, Carolina-blue clad basketball fans
surrounded him. What a picture it made,
didn't it? 1 wonder what the caption will
say? Probably something like, "Ranting,
raving and kicking their heels at Number
One." Too bad it's not true. What if SI took
the real picture and told the real story?
Picture this: The photographer shoots a
picture of Joe Wolf as he stands in front
of 200 stern-faced, Rolex-wearing alumni
who sit haughtily upon their cushioned, $1
million lifetime-ticket seats. Where are the
students? Well, of course, we're sitting
quietly on our hands, wearing every color
but Carolina blue, exactly 50 yards above
the alumni the distance from the worst
seat in the Dean Dome to the playing floor.
Maybe the caption would read, "Sitting
quietly at Number One" or "We are Tar
Heel born, Tar Heel bred, as you can see,
we are Tar Heel dead." Yeah, that's what
it could read.
1 am in no way putting down the UNC
student body, just attempting to arouse
school spirit and show support for UNC
athletes. One of the biggest reasons Duke
did so well last year was because of student
support. And what did the students get in
return? A great team and a ton of publicity.
Now, if you were a senior in high school,
and you were finding it hard to make the
final choice between going to UNC and
Duke to further your education, what do
you think would be the biggest factor in
influencing your decision? Would it be: 1)
a free jam box with every meal plan; 2) a
free keg of beer with every meal plan; 3)
access to the undergraduate libraries and
word processors after 2 a.m. on weeknights;
4) pregame basketball programming featur
ing how much each school paid for its
Cohen's magic
To the editor:
Once upon a time, far, far
away, there was a land called
Futile. In this kingdom, the
people with power had bright
blue skin and those with any
other skin color were slaves.
One day, a kindly old wizard
happened into the kingdom.
When he saw the unfair treat
ment of the slaves, he was very
sad. That very night, he used
his magic powers to rearrange
the stars into a new pattern in
the sky. He waved his wand and
the stars shaped themselves
into the form of a slave with
shackles around her ankles and
tears running down her cheeks.
"Now," said the wizard,
"perhaps the cruel blue-faced
people will see this image and
understand that what they are
doing is wrong."
But imagine the wizard's
surprise when he found himself
surrounded by a group of the
very people he was trying to
help. "You drew a picture of
us sad and enslaved," one said
angrily. Another said, "You
must want us to be that way."
All the people who had under
stood the star picture in the sky
did not say anything. To them,
the meaning of the stars in the
sky was clear.
The wizard tried to explain
what his picture had meant, but
he was not heard. "What you
wanted it to mean and those
people who say they under
stood that meaning aren't
important," they said, and they
used the wizard as an example
of a bad person whenever they
talked about the bad blue-faced
people, even though the
wizard's face was not the slight
est bit blue.
Finally, the wizard moved
out of the kingdom and left the
land of Futile far behind. Now
and then he would walk by a
different land where some
group of human beings was
being treated unfairly, but he
never again drew pictures in the
sky for them. "1 must not make
the same mistake again," said
the wizard as he walked down
the roads alone, leaving behind
another kingdom without pic
tures in the sky.
1 am writing for those who
saw Adam Cohen's cartoon
and recognized that it was
intended as satire, in case he
has gotten the impression that
his intention was not clear.
HARRISON GREENE
Graduate
City and Regional Planning
RHA red tape
To the editor:
I've been hearing lately what
a bang-up job the Residence
Hall Association has been
doing converting the dorms
into "residence halls life assim
ilation modules," and I would
like to throw in my two cents'
worth.
Ufuk Tukel
Guest Writer
basketball arena; or 5) pregame basketball
programming featuring the school spirit at
each of the universities?
The point is that the biggest tool UNC
has for recruiting students is the people. A
true sense of school spirit shows the unity
among all individuals on our campus.
However, the only way to get the publicity
of our unity is to open up, come out of
the closet and get wild! Why wait until after
a game to party? Why not party in the middle
of the game to show undecided high school
seniors and prospective freshmen, who are
watching UNC on television, that we are
a party school? Honestly, how many of you
not only came to this university for an
education but also to have a good time? 1
rest my case.
Now, what can we do to increase our
spirit? First of all, we have to sit together.
As big as Kenan Stadium and the Dean
Dome are, I am sure that UNC ticket
distributors can find a way to get 5,000 to
9,000 students together in one area. Second,
tickets should be given on a first-come, first
serve basis only. None of this random
distribution crap. The most committed
always get there early, so they should have
the best seats. The loudest should be in the
front. It's only fair.
Since we are UNC students, we have to
show a certain amount of class at our athletic
gatherings. It's not proper to wave our arms
while opposing teams take foul shots
that's rude. Neither should we yell against
the opposing team's coach.
We, on the other hand, should show some
respect in welcoming our visiting teams.
How? Well, we could all wear the school
colors of the opposing team. Not only will
1 . Midi is the oH tax code.,
and which is the nevr, revised,
Simplified version?
2 .
Editorial cartoons do not necessarily reflect
the opinions of The Daily Tar Heel's editorial
board. The cartoons express the opinion of the
cartoonist.
The Daily Tar Heel welcomes reader com
ment. For style and clarity, we ask that you
observe the following guidelines for letters to the
editor and columns:
B All letters columns must be signed by the
author(s). Limit of two signatures per letter or
column.
Back in the good of days,
when Ehringhaus was just a
dorm, 1 could walk into the
Green Room anytime I wanted
to. If I was tired from a long
day of classes, or tired after
work, I could crash on the beat
up couches and take a nap.
They weren't pretty, but they
sure were comfortable. The
Green Room was a good place
to meet people or just watch
"Wheel of Fortune" or "The
Cosby Show."
Now the Green Room is
beautiful. It has brand new
carpeting, and the new couches
with the chained-on pillows are
really attractive. The Green
Room walls are newly painted
white, and the TV is mounted
on a really neat wallhanger.
The only problem is the Green
Room is no longer functional.
The couches are uncomfor
table, and it's no longer possible
to sleep on them. The TV hasn't
worked since the semester
began, and access to the Green
Room is very restricted. In the
mornings it is nearly impossible
to get into the Green Room or
any of the lounges, because the
front desk is usually closed. If
you want to get into any of the
lounges, you have to turn in
your ID and fill out a form.
Call me a maverick, or just
plain irresponsible, but I think
it's really asinine to make
students fill out a form to use
a key to unlock a door that
shouldn't be locked in the first
place, and then theaten them
with the revocation of the
privilege of using the key ever
again if isn't returned in 15
minutes especially when the
door is about 1 5 feet away from
the front desk, or if returning
the key on time means running
up and down five flights of
stairs.
My understanding is that the
reasoning behind this policy is
that management doesn't want
any of its beautiful new furni
ture stolen, and if they make
students use a key to get into
the lounges, it won't be. If this
is the case, then I think man
agement is out of touch with
students.
No amount of restrictive
policymaking is going to stop
the troublemakers from remov
ing the furniture from the
lounges or tossing shopping
carts off the fifth-floor balcony
but it will annoy the majority
of people who need a place to
relax, people who don't want
to wait for the front desk to
open, or to run up and down
stairs trying to return a lounge
room key on time, while hoping
no one has shut the lounge door
in their absence.
BLAISE BYRON FAINT
Junior
English
Tar Heel born
To the editor:
Even though I am not living
in North Carolina right now,
I am a native Tar Heel and find
it troubling that our great state
university may actually be de
emphasiing the teaching of its
own heritage.
Why is there a decline in
interest of the history of our
state among UNC students? As
I see it, there are at least two
reasons: 1) From 1972 to 1982
the teaching of N.C. history
6th man
Dean think that it's Danny Ferry's own
classmates that are booing and waving their
arms in hopes that he misses his free throws,
but high school seniprs will think that
Dookies are a bunch of morons pulling for
Carolina and booing the Blue Devils.
1 wonder what Dean Smith would do if
he got thousands of letters from us, the UNC
students, saying that we wanted to sit
together and wave our hands like waving
was going out of style? Let's find out. Just
sit down and write him a letter. It's free
through campus mail. As a matter of fact,
I would like Coach Smith to take the time
to let us know what is wrong with having
fun, or what the chances are of the students
being able to sit together.
In all respect, Coach Smith, we appreciate
the building and what you have done for
UNC basketball. Thanks to you, a winning
tradition continues year after year. We just
want to help improve that tradition.
Ralph Waldo Emerson said, "Nothing
great was ever achieved without Enthusi
asm." Whether we are physically a part of
the roster or not, I seriously doubt that even
J.R. Reid could carry this team without our
support. If we never showed up for the
games, never cheered or just didn't care,
what reason would the team have to win?
To impress the alumni? We want some
recognition as the sixth man on the team.
When November rolls around, which
can't be too soon, 111 look for myself in
that Sports Illustrated just like everyone else.
After I find my picture, 111 look at the overall
spread and hope that we all didn't lose five
pounds of sweat to look pretty for SI, but
rather that we posed to show that we're a
big part of the winning tradition of UNC
basketball.
GO HEELS! We're rooting for you!
Ufuk Tukel is a sophomore biology major
from Taylorsville.
Why are these iys still. Smiling?
B Students who submit letters j columns
should also include their name, year in school,
major and phone number. Professors and other
University employees should include their title
and department.
a All letters I columns must be typed. (For
easier editing, we ask that they be double-spaced
on a 60-space line.)
B The Daily Tar Heel reserves the right to
edit letters and columns for style, grammar and
accuracy.
was de-emphasized in our ele
mentary schools, and 2) During
the 1985 fall semester the
University only offered one
section of N.C. history. Is our
history department not com
mitted to N.C. history?
I love North Carolina! It is
a wonderful state with a deep
heritage, and whether we hail
from Murphy or Manteo or
anywhere in between, we must
learn why North Carolina is the
gem it is.
TIM GRAY
Class of 1977
Columbia, S.C.
Moral issue
To the editor:
In response to Jerry Tru
chinski's letter ("Harris
needed," Oct. 7), I don't believe
that Shearon Harris can be
reduced to a simplistic cost
benefit analysis. The argument
is more moral than that which
can be researched in a book of
statistics. The issue must be
reconciled within our conscien
ces, not in our wallets.
As to the emergency plan,
how many average citizens
know what to do in the case
of a nuclear accident? The U.S.
nuclear safety record may be
superior to other industries, but
it only takes one accident to
ruin a lifetime.
Scare tactics? Perhaps. But
I would rather be around to
enjoy electricity, however
costly or limited it may be.
Wouldn't you. Truchinski?
ANNE YATES
First Year
Law
m