grpe Daily Tar HeelTuesday November 11, 1986
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ular Mni
94 th year of editorial freedom
JIM ZOOK, Editor
Randy Farmer, Managing Editor
ED BRACKETT, Associate Editor
Dewey Messer , Associate Editor
Tracy Hill, News Editor
GRANT PARSONS, University Editor
Linda Montanari, oty Editor
JILL GERBER, State and National Editor
Scott Fowler, sports Editor
KATHY PETERS, Features Editor
ROBERT KEEFE, Business Editor
Elizabeth Ellen, Arts Editor
DAN CHARLSON, Photography Editor
Continue the fight
To hear Maki Mandela recount the
atrocities she experienced as a child
growing up in South Africa arouses
sympathy and perhaps gains a couple
Df converts to her cause. But during
this year's Human Rights Week,
Students should examine the contra
dictions in U.S. human rights policy
before supporting only the anti
apartheid cause. -
; Mandela's appearance Monday
light in Memorial Hall offered stu
dents a first-hand description of life
for blacks in South Africa. Her
childhood reminiscences do not paral
lel the relatively comfrotable upbring
ing many Carolina students enjoyed.
Separation from her father when she
was only 8 years old, unwarranted
police raids in the middle of the night,
. required documentation merely to
Cross from one town to another
growing up in Raleigh or Charlotte
is tame by comparison.
The abominable acts Mandela faced
are not limited to her nation. Reports
of governmental oppression in El
Salvador and Nicaragua reek of
similar abuses. And yet the Reagan
administration expresses overwhelm
ing concern for affairs in Nicaragua
and El Salvador where people suffer
inhumanities in our backyard.
The White House's approach to
human rights around the world is best
described as hypocritical. When the
issue of U.S. or Soviet domination is
at stake, the administration jumps at
the chance to back the pro-democracy
side. But- if the focus is simply on
human rights, the White House takes
a significantly less active role.
Students nationwide have led the
way in keeping the South African issue
in the spotlight. After Congressional
approval of economic sanctions, the
students' trendsetting role becomes
even more vital to make sure this issue
does not fade away.
Mandela's message also brings to
mind an important point: Students
should constantly examine U.S. for
eign policy toward other nations. That
trendsetting role on the South African
front can be transferred to fighting for
human rights in all nations.
The war against apartheid continues
at noon today in the Pit when the Anti
Apartheid Support Group will hold a
rally. Show your support for the
oppressed.
E
ecognize Vietnam vets too
. If the past few years serve as any
indication, today will further a recent
shift in the focus of Veterans Day.
Celebrations in recent years applauded
the veterans of World War I, World
War II and Korea. But those Veterans
days sometimes did not focus enough
on the soldiers the United States never
opened its arms to the Vietnam
veterans. Today, as veterans of all U.S.
wars are honored, there is much reason
to consider these former soldiers.
The tradition of Veterans Day has
been maintained as a chance for
groups such as the Veterans of Foreign
Wars and the American Legion to
proudly don uniforms and march
down Main Street, USA. It is also an
opportunity for Americans to thank
these veterans for their service, patri
otism and sacrifices in defense of their
country.
, But on every Veterans Day, many
remember times when the wars this
country fought had more clearcut
objectives than the Vietnam War. The
cause of World War II was unques
tioned, and the soldiers of that war
.received great support from Ameri
cans, both during and after the war.
Although the Vietnam War was not
:so popularly supported, any Veterans
'Day ceremony must recognize the
Vietnam veterans with the consider
ation bestowed older veterans.
This was not done in the 1970s,
primarily because the Vietnam War
thrust the United States into an
unfamiliar predicament its first war
loss. This logically meant that the
soldiers could not be welcomed back
as victors. Sadly though perhaps
understandably, given the nature of
that conflict they were hardly
welcomed back at all.
All that is changing. Americans may
be finally able to separate the soldiers
from the war, to simply recognize the
valor of Vietnam veterans. In nearly
every state, citizens are erecting statues
and similar memorials in honor of
those who fought in Vietnam. Recog
nition for these veterans got a boost
in 1982, when the Vietnam Veterans
Memorial was unveiled in Washing
ton. Since then, more than 17 million
people have paid tribute by visiting the
monument, most tracing their fingers
over a few of the 58,130 names etched
in the black, sunken stone.
Americans continue trying to grap
ple with the lack of attention given
to Vietnam veterans. Citizens are
finally realizing that, regardless of the
nature of the war, no soldiers should
be forgotten forever.
Theory going the way of dinosaurs?
So you're convinced that you know the
scoop on UFOs. You've narrowed
blame for the Middle East conundrum
down to one person. And youVe worked
a deal with Simon & Schuster for a tome
explaining exactly how "The Love Boat"
got such high TV ratings.
You should know, then, of the latest
theory regarding another of the world's
great mysteries the disappearance of the
dinosaurs. Two professors from the Midw
est held court recently to explain their
findings, which, in one of the good
professor's words, "show the dinosaurs
went out not with a bang, but a wimper."
The generally accepted theory on the
matter is that Tyrannosaurus rex and
. company shuffled off their massive mortal
coils rather suddenly when a large asteroid
struck the earth about 65 million years ago.
According to the theory, the impact kicked
up a dust cloud that catastrophically altered
the dinosaurs' habitats.
The new theory suggests that the Big
t. Guys (to borrow a term from National
Geographic) weren't bothered much by the
cosmologic inconvenience, and that they
hung around for about 7 million years.
Other factors, such as increased competi
tion for food with other animals, led to the
. dinosaurs' demise, according to the profs.
The folks from the Society of Vertabrate
Paleontology the group that heard the
The Bonom Una
evidence of the maverick theory didn't
raise a ruckus over the presentation, but
there's at least one organization that's
certain to be mad over the whole thing.
We refer, of course, to the Armchair
Theorizers of America, a think tank similar
to such organizations as the Armchair
Quarterbacks of America and the National
Society of Armchair Presidential Advisers.
ATA members constantly speculate on
matters of historical or geologic significance
(such as the dinosaurs' disappearance) and
constantly vie to produce the most exciting
theories based on as little research as
possible, preferably while watching a
syndicated situation comedy.
That's why many ATAers are rumored
to be irate over the new dinosaur theory,
which, according to one member, "says that
life basically went on as usual when this
humongous boulder hit the earth. It's a real
boring theory. Reminds nie of the people
who don't believe that flying saucers from
Alpha Centauri were used to build the
Grand Canyon."
The member, who claimed a spouse
named Morgan Fairchild, also vowed to
protest, saying "Yeah, that's the ticket."
Rights atomises exist at home9 too
Editor's note: Human Rights Week
concludes Wednesday.
All human beings are born free and equal
in dignity and rights. They aresndowed with
reason and conscience and should act
towards one another in a spirit of
brotherhood.
This statement is from the Universal
Declaration of Human Rights that
was adopted and proclaimed by the
General Assembly on Dec. 10, 1948. Just
after the devastation of World War II, the
designers of the Declaration had high
aspirations for the future. The war was over;
the world was on the way to repair. But
repair was limited; there was no Utopia.
Unfortunately, not only do we see
apartheid in South Africa, devastation in
El Salvador and Nicaragua and hunger and
poverty in third world nations, but we see
human rights violations here in the United
States. For white citizens, it's difficult to
imagine the hardships of blacks, Asians,
Indians and other minonty groups who
suffer racial discrimination. Even though
Article 2 of the Declaration states that
"Everyone is entitled to all rights and
freedoms . . . without distinction of race,
color, sex," rights are being denied.
American Indians have U.S. citizenship
forced upon them and have lost rights to
the land that they first occupied. There is
discrimination in the job market with respect
to race, color, sex and physical handicap.
tfccia Rust
Guest Writer
These problems are not always immediately
seen and often happen under the table, away
from the public eye. Don't bet fooled. The
problems are there.
The right to have one's own sexual
preference exists, but our society is struc
tured in such a way that gay and lesbian
rights are denied. This is a problem specific
to North America. A large part of the rights
of homosexuals focus on AIDS victims, who
have been denied employment even in
situations that involve no risk of spread of
the disease.
. Public health is a right, yet women fear
voicing incidents of date rape. Often it is
not considered as serious as stranger rape,
so that treatment is not so carefully
administered, and the patient suffers.
Mockery follows. Do we want to see our
society with such little compassion?
There are some states in which capital
punishment is part of the judiciary system.
This violates Article 5 of the Declaration.
"No one shall be subjected to torture or to
cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or
punishment." How can capital punishment
exist alongside such an article?
Campus issues are a little easier to relate
to, but no less shocking. It is easy to see
the division between blacks and whites on
campus. The fine line that exists may not
at first be considered a violation of human
rights. But in fact, discrimination of any kind
towards minorities or majorities is a
violation. Problems are suffered by black
cafeteria employees who, in need of their
Jobs, will not protest. A motion was almost
passed for a referendum on CGLA funding,
on the basis that it doesn't serve all students
on campus. But regardless of popularity,
every opinion has the right of existence.
It is amazing that human rights violations
could be allowed to occur in a country that
is watched so closely by so many others.
How can we expect human rights violations
to be addressed in other countries if they
exist in the United States? The theme of
Human Rights Week is "Educating the
World About Itself." The United States as
a nation has the power to do that.
We are lucky at UNC to have so many
groups and organizations that show con
cern. We are lucky that Human Rights Week
does educate us about our world. All we
need now is to have our goal heard
throughout the United States, from where
it has a chance to be heard throughout the
world.
Kecia Rust is an international studies
major from Toronto, Canada.
Twisted words
To the editor:
It seems as though the back
page of the Daily Tar Heel has
become open season on letter
writers. Usually the editorial
page is used for direct response
to issues and events of interest.
Danny Rosin has seen fit to
verbally attack an opinionated
letter writer. Rosin addresses
the issues presented in Mark
Good's letter "Get Primeval"
(Oct. 27) by twisting Good's
words so as to wrongfully
present the article.
While. Rosin addresses some
of. Good's issues properly, he
attacks with immature retorts,
such as saying that Good was
trying to place his hand on
some girl's bottom during the
Union Bash. There is no place
for that kind of nonsense on
the editorial page.
While Good's letter was
harsh, it was issues-oriented. I
hope that people like Danny
Rosin will think twice about
again writing useless tripe
against other letter writers.
BRIAN HOEL
Junior
Biology
Forgery
jChrjanhiite--
To the editor:
A person (or persons)
unknown has placed a personal
in The Daily Tar Heel and
signed it "Bolt Upright Jr." I
would like to make it clear that
this individual is in no way
connected, related to, asso
ciated with or acknowledged by
me.
This individual has usurped
my name without my consent.
I think this would be obvious
from the stunning wimpiness of
the personal "Milk Duds,"
indeed! But I wished to clarify
the matter in the public forum
ofTheDTH.
Should the panty waist
responsible for the personal
wish to bear up to his respon
sibilities like some semblance of
the man he wishes he is, an
apology in these pages would
suffice. Otherwise, milksop, IH
track you down and burn your
pastel underwear.
EDGAR "BOLT" UPRIGHT
Chapel Hill
No exposure
To the editor:
I have a couple of problems
with Pat Patterson's letter,
"Respect religion," (Nov. 5.)
1 tmnk the reason Patterson
expresses support for Judge
Hull's horrendous decision is
that its ramifications are not
clear to him. The decision does
not imply that Mennonite
children do not have to partic
ipate in military exercises, but
that they don't have to read
books expressing ideas about
military exercises.
It does not imply that fun
damentalist Christian children
cannot be told to believe there
is good in all religions (an idea
expressed in The Diary of Anne
Frank), but that they should
not tyave to be exposed to this
idea. Not that atheist children
do not have to participate in
school prayer, but that they
need not read books expressing
ideas favorable to religious
observance.
Pat, you don't agree with
that, do you? '
SCOTT KESSLER
Graduate
Political Science
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The Daily Tar Heel welcomes reader com
ment. For style and clarity, we ask that you
observe the following guidelines for letters to the
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D 771? Daily Tar Heel reserves the right to
edit letters and columns for style, grammar and
accuracy.
Fundamental freedom does not force teachings
Editor's note: Due to editing
errors, David Paynes letter was
incorrectly printed Nov. 6.
Following is a corrected ver
sion. The DTH regrets the
mistake.
To the editor:
The Daily Tar Heel editorial
on whether fundamentalist
children should be required to
read the same books as their
classmates ("Fundamental
faith, freedom," Oct. 29) struck
me as a gut reaction to a
perceived threat to public edu
cation. But is such a threat real?
Since the word "fundamen
talist" is often a negative buzz
word, let's not talk about
fundamentalists. Suppose that
some black parents don't want
their grammar school child to
read Huckleberry Finn because
of the way it typecasts Jim, a
black slave.
Most of us are probably not
bothered by this and enjoy
reading the book. But should
we have the audacity to dictate
to the parents of that child that
their child will read Huckleb
erry Finn because that's the
book that was chosen for the
whole class to read?
The editorial's main point
was that "in a non-theocratic
society, the first responsibility
is to (a secular) education." But
should this be so, even when
in the pursuit of that education,
we run roughshod over the
values of those that we are
attempting to serve?
Secularism has its own set of
values, and in many ways it
becomes a competing philo
sophy to religion. As the DTH
stated: "The free exercise clause
precludes the state forcing a
religious view on the individ
ual." I would think that this
includes forcing influences as
well.
Even if parents object for a
non-religious reason, why must
we force our education down
their throats? Is their child just
a ward of the state, to be raised
in a manner acceptable to the
state? It seems that the Pilgrims
and the French Huguenots
came to this country to escape
this sort of state domination.
Do we have to make young
children the rope in a tug-of-
war between the parents and
teachers? For children, the
approval of their teachers are
important in developing a
healthy self-image. Once they
do get into high school, they
will be getting a secular edu
cation anyway.
But, you say, if they don't
like the public schools, let these
parents send their kids to
private school. Yes, and in the
absence of tuition tax credits
for those who do, how many
people can afford to pay taxes
to support the public schools
and pay private school tuition
for several children?
So if we can find it within
ourselves to overcome our
initial negative reaction, I think
our system of education can
withstand it just fine if we allow
some children to be excused
from class for a few hours each
week so that they can benefit
from their parent's personal
attention while they learn how
to read from a different book.
DAVID PAYNE
Graduate
Economics
Grownups now
To the editor:
Parking is one of those dog-eat-dog
situations here at UNC.
Therefore, my glasses steamed
when I read your editorial on
the parking situation at
Ehringhaus when the athletes
come to dine. I wholeheartedly
agree that the athletes are
needlessly being pampered by
the athletic department and the
campus ticket office.
These people are grown men
and women. They dont need
someone to hold their hand and
guide them through life's trials
and tribulations. No one does
that for us. The athletes should
have to deal with life while
they're here, because no one is
going to do it for them when
they leave.
The traffic office looks rid
iculous in allowing their
enforcement to be trivialized by
some higher-up in the athletic
department wooing them with
his clout. If I have a rich uncle,
could they not ticket the Hin
ton James lot when I have my
car there? If we are going to
allow everyone to disregard
rules because of their clout,
why don't we just call off
civilization and head back to
the caves?
As for the athletic depart
ment, they could save face if
they would attempt to accom
modate the interests of all
involved before they create
"understandings" that make a
mockery of justice. For starters,
they need to realize that each
person here at the University
has an individual interest that
cannot be overlooked when
decisions are made.
MARK UNFERTH
Freshman
Chemistry
Scary faces
To the editor:
Many thanks to Chris John
son and James Garvey for
freeing us masses from those
scary "right-wing facists"
("Anarchy, USA, Nov. 10). I,
too, have noticed some very
frightening visages on the Col
lege Republicans. It's time to
put a stop to the indiscriminate
grimacing for which the New
Right has become so notorious.
My advice to anyone con
fronted by one of these "facists"
is to make a face right back
that'll show 'em!
Of course, these "facists" are
not nearly as dangerous as
"fascists." "Facists" just make
ugly faces; "Fascists" make
faces like Benito Mussolini.
DAVID WHARTON
Graduate
Classics