North Carolina Newspapers

,8.The Daily Tar Heel Thursday, January 29, 1987 "V-:. , . , ,,,.. , .., latiu 9i .year o editorial "t-'u'."k Geer for This year's question C; -r . Il- HdlottriiDs should take over Mark Pavao's pre W& srdental office for the Carolina Athletic Association has many flout mere is only one oesi ' I licit i uuc bauutuaiw wuu iviiuws Sjthe spectrum of Carolina athletics well gigjMiough to put her role in r-ir: After going through vih the last year, the University's ticket xt'.hlan that nleases students. While all y?-fTi nthfr fnnrlirlntfc VirlfTfH rn that sue, Geer suggests a clear-cut, new IIVolution to change distribution to munday afternoons. This brings back iPleekend distribution but gives stu Afients time to return to Chapel Hill Jfrom weekend tnps. Denny Worley may Stem, but on this, as on 2&;he proposes no changes. Suzanne T Ama rnA DonIll i rrrrc -Ykis y , auu tvaiiuj lyiggj ounw iiuui .iack of research. : Each of the candidates stress the need for student awareness and f-jncreased publicity of g-arsity athletic programs, but Geer mentions a point no other candidate vsays so well. She wants Students' nartvine enerev "ijfj I J O y.for non-revenue sports," J pre-game events that generate excite- liment, enthusiasm and cashes quick to realize Sr ji needs and the realism that 3sAVl i v ..rr r aporib uun i uiici irum anion. Freeman for IfyThc senior class president must meet viuuia iiccui wiiiic irymg 10 inane inc jtirantic, anxious last year the best for IfgtHc Class of The Daily Tar Heel Jelieves Scott Rankin can best accomplish this balance. P?V Among the three candidates, Ran glkin seems to have the most useful pdeas. His best efforts would include hotline; seniors would call a recorded linessage detailing pertinent upcoming ftieyenis ana aeaannes, sucn as resume jLdrops. Rankin's senior information i- Oootn is another good idea. Drovidme Meniors with easv V r frt rtt, ntinh TV nrontact nrnklom j---,-.-.-. i iv givaivoi 7tvuiwill Willi 1X011111110 '.-r-r-:; . .... campaign may be that presidential running mate. This year, g president and vice president will be rc .yivyivu vpuiaiwijr. ti tvaiiiviii witio, ins lice president will be an opponent's grunning mate. Rankin says the situa dn would bring in new ideas. We fSWohder about the working relation- 5tnrp me senior class vice ?.Mve with an officer who pgtuhnmg mate. gfivRankin's solo candidacy also puts Vif-i rTi .i i use uin in me unusual IClark for pjgfrhe Residence Hall Association is f--itfip tllHfnt rfnrpfntntivf vrirv rn -f Housing concerns. The president of this Organization must have the ability to IJileal with students and housing admin ?l3strators, as well as have a working knowledge of RHA and dorm life. fpCiyen these conditions, The Daily Tar piHeel endorses Kelly Clark for RHA Resident. As governor of Morrison Residence gCjollege and chairman of RHA's ?f finance committee, Clark understands jh'ow RHA functions alongside a ffciepartrhent of Housing administra tion that has been at odds this year With student leaders. He to implement a lot of x " ' hiuch as he wants to see some existing pjans carried out. . 2 .Clark chairs a committee comparing the housing allocation systems at other diversities to UNCs lottery system, freedom CAA president about who good answers, answer. perspective. three revisions know the sys- many issues, en lesser-known to "channel into energy ,OJ sponsoring homecoming school spirit. in one facet both students Geer displays most varsity i i ineuia nype. Our choice to seniors. enthusiast combine well. access to candidates, iirltVi DnnUinV Brown, is issues and the pair he has no vice influence president can defeated his The class whomever officers, but position oi to gain with RHA president a system he laws. on-campus they want Working process is one we hope accept. Another to handle of "Dorm some of the This idea adoption doesn t intend new ideas as ingenuity is insight show ot RHA president. Jim Zcx)K, fcior Randy Farmer, Managing Editor KATHY NANNEY, Associate Editor Tracy Hill, News Editor GRANT PARSONS, University Editor LINDA MONTANARI, City Editor DONNA LEINWAND, State and National Editor Scott Fowler, sports Editor JULIE BRASWELL, features Editor ROBERT KEEFE, Business Editor Elizabeth Ellen, Arts Editor DAN CHARLSON, Photography Editor Geer wants a lot that students want, and, because of her experience, she's the most likely of the four candidates to get it. She has already proven to have a powerful duality: creative ideas plus the ability to carry them out. As chairperson of the CAA's special projects committee, Geer helped initiate an on-campus fitness trail that will appear next fall. Geer can profit, however, from suggestions offered by some of her opponents. Lowe has a knack for communication and her ideas for homecoming show ingenuity. She wants to contact record companies and attract benefit concerts coordinated with big-time sporting events. How ever, her strength Homecoming may also be her downfall; she lacks insight on other issues. Worley is mainly a status-quo man who has some good funding ideas that include area businesses, but it seems he would elicit little positive change. Diggs mentions a sorely needed communications system to link the CAA branches more closely. Unfor tunately, as a first-year committee member, he lacks the experience and background to carry out plans. Diggs realizes the need to improve communication, Worley understands business interests and Lowe knows royally but expertise of the job is not sufficient. a much broader cogniz ance of what the job entails, and what students need. senior class endorsing a vice presidential candidate without endorsing his running mate. for vice president is James Freeman, whose leadership ability and organizational experience with cam pus political groups would be valuable Freeman is running with presiden tial candidate Durral Gilbert. The DTH's second choice, Gilbert is the (perhaps too much so) that contrasts with the quieter Freeman. The cheerleader and the doer would The biggest asset of the other Ann Davidson and David their awareness of campus politics. In their interivew, demonstrated potential to the University administra tion on seniors' behalf. But they were uncomfortable presenting their ideas. There may be a problem in the Davidson Brown ticket with an ability to communicate and persuade others. of 1988 will not lose they choose for their they may have the most Scott Rankin. acknowledges has some In addition, Clark wants to follow up on a recent RHA survey, in which residents indicated how their rent money spent. for student input into that a most welcome idea and housing officials heartily of Clark's ideas is to amend the current alcohol policy. He advo cates ajudicial board of dorm residents disciplinary actions, a kind Honor Court" that takes burden off area directors. may need research before is possible, but Clark's to be commended.. Like DTH editorial candidate Jill Gerber, Clark is running unopposed. Nevertheless, Clark's credentials and he is qualified for the job Abortiom issme sparks controversy Male viewpoint To the editor: I shall refrain from address ing all the dubious claims made by Huges and Leete in their piece on abortion. Instead I shall focus on their most pro vocative assertions. Anyone who states that abortion is a rejection of the function of the womb, a symp tom of self-hatred, and dimin ishes a woman's personhood must be prepared to have a similar position on male repro ductive functions. If they do not they should show why. Hughes and Leete did not do this. Accordingly, Hughes and Leete must at least believe that a vasectomy has the same effect on men as it has on women. At the extreme, their position could mean that wearing a condom constitutes a rejection of the basic function of the penis, a symptom of self hatred, etc. Or, simply, real men don't wear condoms. Regarding the Supreme Court's decisions on various "advice" statutes, the Court has found that such legislation placed women under an "undue burden. This means the court believed that such laws ham pered women when they tried to exercise their right to abor tion that Roe vs. Wade estab lished. The court found that many such laws were designed by abortion foes not with the intent of informing the woman of relevant facts but with the intent of discouraging abor tions. The position of Hughes and Leete validates this reason ing. Those in favor of such laws usually want to reduce, if not eliminate, abortions, even if it means terrorizing a woman right out of a doctor's office. This brings us to the most unsavory part of Huges and Leete's musings. While decry ing intimidation when it is used to foster abortions, they seems to have no compunction about using any scare tactics in order to stop abortions. Surely any husband or boyfriend who forced a woman into an abor tion is a worthless worm. It seems also clear that someone who would try to intimidate a woman out of an abortion is at least not a very nice person. Hughes and Leete try to intim idate by saying that physical and emotional problems often accompany abortions, omitting the fact that such problems often do not accompany abortions. Any decision on the propr iety of abortion must be based on the facts of the matter and the moral principles one chooses to adhere to, not on cynical scare tactics. JEFF A. TAYLOR Senior Philosophy Political Science Endorsement letters Letters supporting candi dates for student office will be run on a double-page editorial section Monday, Feb. I. These letters must be in the DTH letters to the editor box by p.m. Sunday, Jan. 31. The deadline will be strictly enforced. Two letters per can didate will be published. To the editor: In reading Skip Hagan's article on abortion (Jan. 22) in the DTH, 1 observed several misconceptions and exaggera tions which I would like to address. My first problem with the article is Mr. Hagan's concern about a "top-heavy" society causing serious financial straits for a nation. First of all, if not enough babies and too many elderly were seriously a prob lem, we would have to blame birth control, people's wishes for smaller families, women's wishes to work rather than to raise families and above all, improved medical technology allowing people to live longer, healthier lives. Yes, abortion would be a contributor to the problems of a top-heavy society, but it would hardly be the sole cause. However, even if a top-heavy society could cause economic problems for our nation, these problems would be short-term only. In the long run, the older people would eventually have to die, and an equilibrium at a lower population level would be regained. nl0D 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. B Students who submit letters columns should also include their name, year in school, To the editor: 1 agree with Skip Hagan ("For Some an Anniversary of Sorrow," Jan.22) that Jan.22 was the 14th anniversary of Roe vs. Wade and that abor tion provokes intense debate. Beyond that 1 question aspects of Hagan's argument. Hagan mentions a "top heavy society" and postulates that retirees will be a financial strain. What about young women who would have to go on welfare if the option of legal abortion was no longer avail able? These women on welfare, caring for their children at home, could not be considered "wage-earners." Hagan states: "The advo cates of 'choice' offer abortion as the only solution to such problems (i.e. 'financial disas ters' and a 'population prob lem)." How ludicrous! Pro choice means a woman should have the right to choose whether to assume the respon sibility of carrying a child for nine months. The pro-choice position does not advocate abortion as a means of birth control! Hagan proceeds to correlate Illogical To the editor: I found Skip Hagan's article, "For some, an anniversary of sorrow," (Jan. 22) disturbing not only because of its simplis tic treatment of a complex issue, but also because of its blatant ignorance of social facts. Hagan blames abortion for several of the world's most pressing problems. He inaccu rately draws a causal link between abortion and a declin ing population. He does not acknowledge that the declining birth rate in this country has been profoundly affected by birth control and the participa tion of women in the labor force. Abortion not linked to I also take strong exception to Hagan's statement that "The advocates of 'choice' offer abortion as the only solution to such problems." The advo cates of "choice" offer abortion as one solution among several to some very serious problems. Choice means allowing people to decide for themselves what they want to do. After defining choice as offering a single solution, Mr. Hagan goes on to declare that abortion causes child abuse, citing a 500 percent rise in child abuse since abortion was legal ized. I would easily believe that there has been a 500 percent rise in the. number of child abuse cases reported since 1972. However, according to extensive studies reported in Psychology Today ("Shattered Innocence,"Feb. 1987, p. 54), about one in six adult Amer icans today reported having been abused as children. These people were children before abortion was legalized; clearly, abortion did not cause their abuse. Child abuse is a very serious problem which has been around a long time and is only now receiving the attention Foinuiiffii It's a woman's body, woman's right the legalization of abortion to an "astronomical . . . increase" in child abuse. It is highly probable that child abuse is not a trend; it was happening before Roe vs. Wade. The rise could be attributed to society's increased willingness to discuss and report such cases. A corre lation between two variables does not establish a causal relationship. I assume that Skip Hagan is male. As a female, I question Hagan's decision that women have not benefited from the legalization of abortion. Women no longer have to confront the possibility of a back alley abortion with its pain, humiliation and dangers. Women now have a measure of control over paths we may wish to explore. Biologically, a male can never experience the possibility of an unwanted and unplanned pregnancy. Can any male imagine facing the emo tional and physical strain of carrying a child to term with no support from the father or family? Though Hagan wants "abor tion stopped," he offers no alternatives. It would be unwise mix of controversial issues Furthermore, he expresses concern over the declining respect for human life, specif ically the alarming increase in child abuse since the legaliza tion of abortion. Child abuse has occurred for centuries; the "astronomical increase" is in large part due to increased reporting of its incidence. Perhaps the most sobering statement of all was that "the ultimate scar of abortion is when the death of the mother as well as the death of the fetus results." It is well documented that abortion does not disap pear just beause it is illegal. Women have always had abor tions, but the methods have 'top - heavy' society, necessary to help prevent it. I have no statistics, but 1 would v be more inclined to think that abortion would contribute to a lessening of child abuse, since unwanted children and child ren with problems are more likely to be abused. Not only do all children suffer, because abortion causes child abuse, but all women suffer from having abortions, according to Mr. Hagan. It is true that some women are physically or emotionally scarred by abortion. It is also true that some women are physically and emotionally scarred by an unwanted or dangerous pregnancy. Some : women and babies die in child- birth. Is it fair to tell a women tthat the baby is MORE impor tant than she is? Hagan also declares that because there is a need for post-abortion coun seling, abortion is obviously a scarring, damaging thing. Does this mean that because there is a need for marriage and family counseling that marriage and families are bad things? This is obviously ridiculous. Many people who choose abortion are teenage couples or major and phone number. Professors and other University employees should include their title and department. B All letters 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. to assume that just the illegality of abortion would prevent the procedure from being per formed. Unless they had a knight in shining armor, it is likely that many women would seek illegal abortion and pos sibly suffer the consequences of a back alley "operation." This is hardly a solution. Although this is a complex issue, I believe that part of the answer lies in educating youth about the consequences and responsibilities of being sexu ally active; a simple anatomy lesson will not do. Facing the facts of human biology could be a step towards prevention as a means of solution through increased awareness of birth control. The "holocaust," as I see it, would be for a male to be able to take from a female her right to control her body. But then, perhaps Hagan sees the more liberated woman and the right to control one's own destiny as parts of "our present moral decline." TRISHA HOUSER Junior Psychology been unsafe and the costs emotionally and financially have been substantial. In 1959, before Roe v. Wade, one third of all maternal deaths were due to illegal abortions. Abortion is a controversial issue. I would highly recom mend Kristin Luker's objective and informative book, "Abor tion and the Politics of Moth erhood," which provides an analysis of a complex problem. Linking two disparate issues "abortion and child abuse is a simplistic assumption with out basis in fact. BETSY SHELDON Graduate '" Sociology abuse unmarried women who could not handle a child at that time. Early and forced marriages tend to end in divorce, with each member of the couple resenting each other and the child. The child then resents the parents, and never learns what a happy family is like. Instead, he follows his parents' example and the cycle of unhappiness is repeated. Obviously, this is not always the case, but just as obviously, looking at crime and "problem behavior" rates off children of teen parents, it often happens. ' I am not trying to imply that abortion is the only solution, or even necessarily the best solution in dealing with unwanted or hazardous preg nancies. What 1 am saying is that it is a realistic approach to a problem for some people at some times. Above all, it is a choice which should be left up to those involved, not dic tated by the mandated of a, supposedly democratic society. LYNN SPROTT Sophomore French Psychology