10The Daily Tar Heel Friday, April 17, 1987
latlu
95th year of editorial freedom
Academics, not
Once upon a
time, educational bQsiltl
institutions n
involved sitting uJEIwUn
under olive trees in
white togas, reading Plato and Aris
totle out loud. Those were the good
old days, when education was books
and learning, pure and simple.
Education, especially at universities,
has gotten more complicated since
then. The recent nomination of UNC
System President CD. Spangler to the
board of directors of Jefferson-Pilot
Corp. raises the question: How
entangled in external private enterprise
should a university become?
Allowing university administrators
to sit on the boards of private cor
porations could result in serious
conflicts of interest. The administrator
juggles the interests of both the
company he represents and the uni
versity. If he sits on the board of IBM,
for example, and the university is
trying to decide where to purchase new
computers for Venable Hall, then his
judgment of the situation naturally will
be biased. At the risk of making this
official sound grossly corrupt, if IBM
EdotoirnaHs
Insanity plea inconsistent
On March 30, 1981, John Hinckley
shot President Reagan and three other
people. A jury composed of 12 of his
peers found him not guilty by reason
of insanity. He was committed to St.
Elizabeths Hospital until such time as
his doctors decided he had been cured
of his psychosis and a judge approved
that diagnosis.
Hinckley has not yet been cured. But
his psychiatrists told a federal judge
last week that he had progressed
enough to merit an unescorted 12-hour
visit to his parents home on Easter
Sunday. The visit was portrayed as an
important step in his treatment.
Predictably, the statement provoked
an angry response from law enforce
ment officials. Secret Service spokes
man Richard Adams said, "He shot
four individuals, and to us he's still
a threat."
More importantly, the psychiatrists'
recommendation also spurred the
revelations that Hinckley wrote mass
murderer Ted Bundy last year express
ing sympathy for his plight, that he
received a letter from Squeaky
Fromme, who tried to kill President
Ford in 1975, and that he had asked
his doctor for Charles Manson's
address. Under fire, the hospital
officials dropped their request or the
leave.
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JlLLGERBER. Editor
Amy Hamilton, Managing Editor
SALLY PEARSALL, News Editor
JEAN LUTES. University Editor
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economics
is slumping in sales, he could recom
mend the university buy the more
expensive IBM computers as opposed
to another cheaper company's. This is
an extreme example, but in any
situation, such an administrator would
be caught between conflicting goals.
This is not to say that Spangler is
a corrupt administrator bent on
playing Jefferson-Pilot and UNC off
on each other according to his own
designs.
But the University's increasing
involvement with business is disturb
ing. A university is for education, first
and last, and the focus of its admin
istrators should be undistracted by
major outside corporate interests. To
a certain degree, education and bus
iness are inevitably mixed, but only
in that running a university is a
business managing tuition, invest
ing in stocks, handling private and
corporate donations, etc.
The economic aspects of a university
are unavoidable, and are needed to
keep the educational system running.
But administrators should restrict their
own business interests to those of the
university they represent.
Their decision was wrong. Hinck
ley's psychiatrists believe he should be
allowed to visit his parents. That
opinion is the only one that matters.
The hospital's decision to give in to
public pressure was the result of a
dangerous interference in the medical
realm on the part of the judicial.
What the Secret Service thinks of
Hinckley and of his sanity is absolutely
irrelevant. This is a nation governed
by law, and in the eyes of the law,
Hinckley is not a criminal. He was
acquitted of the crimes for which he
was brought to trial. He is no more
guilty of shooting President Reagan
than Richard Adams is. The only
difference is that Hinckley is mentally
ill, and his freedom is therefore subject
to the decision of his doctors. They
are, in some sense, his keepers.
His keepers feel that Hinckley is no
longer a threat to society. Consulting
psychiatrist Dr. Glenn Miller said of
him, "I do not believe he's suicidal.
I do not believe he's a danger to Mr.
Reagan." Miller believes it is safe to
grant Hinckley the 12-hour pass. St.
Elizabeths Hospital believes the same.
Under the law, nothing else should
matter. And if trial by jury is to retain
any significance, Hinckley should be
free, if only for one Sunday. J.S.
Tar Heel
Group is serious about financial aid cuts
To the editor: ,
Students for Educational Access would
like to thank Lisa D. Jacobs for her April
14 letter to the editor, " Talk show' product
of middle class innocence," which we hope
will promote discussion of the issue of
student aid. We are delighted at the
opportunity to clarify and correct the
misconceptions that exist concerning this
issue.
Jacobs letter begins as a criticism of a
recent SEA event a mock "Donahue"
show in the Pit in which students were
apparently "clownishly imitating adminis
tration officials" and "quoting them out of
context." If Jacobs was offended by the
administration's position or statements, we
can only say that we can't make excuses
for their behavior. We, however, admit to
a certain degree of clownishness, but we
defend our humor on two accounts. First,
we think that the administration's proposed
45 percent cut in student aid is, in a word,
ridiculous. No "out of context" quotations
were necessary to reveal this to the audience.
Secondly, our "clownishness" was an
attempt to present an important issue in a
new way. After a rally, a handicap simu
lation, two lobbying trips to Washington,
D.C., and Raleigh, and weekly forums, we
were looking for new ways to reach people.
The "Donahue" show was something
different in an effort to present the serious
issue of student aid to the students.
Jacobs in the rest of her letter appears
to have trouble with the position that SEA
has taken on student aid, and spells out her
reasoning on why our stand on this issue
is incorrect in two basic arguments.
First, Jacobs asserts that student aid is
a basically "middle class entitlement" abused
by the "well-to-do" to buy stereos and the
like. Apparently she sees President Reagan's
budget as an effort to eliminate such free
loading. Of course, a look at the president's
budget proposal quickly dispels all such
Leave the
courts alone
To the editor:
Once again the University
has ignored students in making
an important decision that
affects them. The Carolina
Athletic Association, the Res
idence Hall Association and
South Campus residents were
informed in mid-April about
the proposal to convert the
Hinton James tennis courts
into a parking lot. This prop
osal went before the Office of
Business and Finance in Jan
uary. Such a delay in giving
student organizatons informa
tion that concerns them is
inexcusable.
Equally inexcusable are the
contents of this plan. The
Educational Foundation feels
the parking spaces created are
necessary to fulfill obligations
to alumni who made large
contributions to the Smith
Center. Since the Educational
Foundation did not provide
convenient parking for all of its
donors, they now want to force
South Campus residents to give
up one of the few conveniences
offered to them, to make room
for Rams Club spaces.
There are two things which
make this idea extremely dis
turbing. The first is that the
contributors to the Smith Cen
ter's construction should not
have strings attached to their
gifts. If the purpose of the
Educational Foundation is
really to promote UNC ahletics
and not to assure alumni good
seating and good parking at
basketball games, they should
not espouse the destruction of
one of the only outlets for
recreational athletics on South
Campus. Secondly, the only
thing this plan "gives" the many
students who regularly enjoy
the courts is an opportunity for
Wlhieati aid
As the 'eggs prepare for their exodus from
the safe asylum offered by the confines of
this institution, they begin to reflect on what
wisdom they picked up during their terms
here.
The veritable glimmering jewels of their
scholarly pursuits the wheat amongst the
chaff - is given here. You, too, can quit
school after learning these lessons.
It won't take long:
a They don't give out the secrets of the
universe in college
You dont have to be brilliant to
graduate, you just have to be smarter than
the bottom 15 percent of the curve.
You can either do the readings or go
to class; you don't need to do both.
O The Student Honor Code was designed
for teachers, it offers students nothing.
Carroll Hall, Sunday With the yearly
slaughter of student groups' proposed
budgets underway. Student Congress
members' mouths watered when Carolina
Gay and Lesbian Association funding was
discussed.
Witness from these selected quotes. Real
life Student Congress members actually said
these:
"It's what my religious leaders say; it's
what I say that's my justification."
Jim Wooten, explaning why the CGLA
mm
Readers' Foramru
notions. Consider the TRIO programs,
which target students at the lowest income
level they would be cut in half. Pell
Grants, aimed at low-income families, as
well, would suffer a 30 percent decrease.
Such cuts go far beyond an attempt to
squeeze out the middle class cheaters they
jeopardize the future of millions of lower
income students. A recent study at UCLA
reveals the devastating effects of the
administration's systematic cuts in education
since it came into office. In 1980, 40. 7 percent
of college freshman had family incomes
below $20,000. Since then, student aid has
been cut 28 percent. The result: only 20.5
percent of 1986 freshmen came from families
earning less than $20,000. Researchers
concluded that this disparity was way too
large to be accounted for by inflation.
Rather, it becomes obvious that the main
effect of such aid cuts is to deny lower
income persons the chance to be educated.
SEA agrees with Jacobs that abuses need
to be stopped. But we disagree that drastic
cuts in aid programs for the underprivileged
will achieve this goal. To become bogged
down in weeding out the alleged stereo
buyers is merely an excuse to stop the crucial
struggle to provide all people an education.
In her second argument, she takes the
position that since "students have increased
earning power because of their" degrees, they
should be required to pay back loans instead
of given outright grants. This line of
reasoning is flawed on two counts. First,
she assumes too quickly that all students
will take high paying jobs after college. Some
people still want to be teachers and pursue
other professions that do not offer the high
incomes to which Jacobs appears to aspire.
It is unfair to expect and push individuals
into "lucrative" careers in order to pay off
heavy loans if other, lower paying careers
are more attractive to them. And yet this
is exactly what is happening to students now.
The past ten years has seen a tremendous
Bitten by the Presidential ... vh, bat .
a 30-minute walk to the already
overcrowded Cobb Residence
Hall courts. This will be
extremely inconvenient for
anyone on South Campus. By
the same token, many off
campus students use the courts
in the afternoon and evening
because there is ample parking
in the Hinton James lot. Cobb
lot is the only student parking
area on North Campus, and it
is always full to capacity.
Adding two more tennis courts
there will only aggravate park
ing problems, making it impos
sible for off-campus tennis
players to use the Cobb courts.
The essential issue is whether
or not the Athletic Depart
ment, the Office of Business
and Finance, and the Board of
Trustees is going to ignore
student needs on South Cam
pus and fold to pressure from
a few alumni. When the con
venience of 160 Smith Center
donors is weighed against the
needs of hundreds of students
for whom these courts were
built, this proposal is an unac
ceptable solution to the parking
problem. It must not be
implemented.
BARRY COBB
Sophomore
Administration of Justice
Status quo
or bust
To the editor:
In response to David K.
Williams Jr.'s letter ("Spring
time ramblings," April 16), who
does Williams think he is in
forwarding this attempt to elicit
activism and progressivism
from students at this university?
Obviously, he is just one more
of those "dern liberals" who
runs rampant, attacking every
issue on which he can get his
hands.
Williams does not consider
chaff of a IMG-education
Scrambled -m-eggs
j jr
"It's about even with other minority
groups. It's actually less than other minority
groups. I think it's a good compromise."
Bobby Ferris, speaking about a $750
allocation for speakers fees.
And winning the Scrambled Eggs award
for irrelevance was this phrase, scrawled
anonymously on a large blackboard in the
front of the room: "Bobby Ferris worships
Jon Bon Jovi."
The Pit Stop, recently Life is a trade-off.
You have to give up what you need to get
what you want. In this case, the Pit Stop
gave up its former bakery contract, and it
received a nifty new pastry case from the
new baker.
Students got a new variety jelly and
stale doughnuts.
The Union Gallery, this week It's a classic
case of art interfering with life. In the
shift from grants to loans in student aid
programs. The result: in 1985-86, five million
students were borrowing $9.8 billion. One
fifth of all Guaranteed Student Loan
recipients face serious financial hardships as
a consequence. Last year alone there were
over $1.4 billion in student loan defaults.
More loans and less grants would only
exacerbate this growing crisis.
Second, Jacobs' analysis completely
ignores that there are important social
benefits to education that extend far beyond
the raw monetary advantages gained by
individual students and the national econ
omy. Among these include the realizing of
the potential of each individual, a more
informed voting public, and a society of
educated minds that can help solve the
problems that face our world. This includes
educating as many people as we can, and
the grant program is a vital part of this
investment.
To close, we would like to respond to
Jacobs' patronizing conclusion that we
would share her perspective when we began
earning money in the "real" world. We
believe that through awareness of an issue,
everyone can become acquainted with the
problems and solutions it encompasses.
Therefore, we do not feel that as we mature
we will retreat into a narrow concern for
one's "own money." Rather, we will continue
to promote that which we consider to be
a very "grown-up" attitude: a concern about
long-term problems and long-term solu
tions, the foremost of which is educating
all Americans.
STUART HATHAWAY
Freshman
Political Science
SCOTT MORTON
Freshman
English
that students at UNC realize
that their time is better spent
by trying to conform to the
status quo, rather than chang
ing it. A student is allotted only
so many hours in one day. It
is to his advantage to study and
be prepared to live in the world,
not to try to resist the status
quo.
The thought that students
should have a voice in the
manner by which the world
they live in should be run is
blasphemous. If the students
fought to change the world, the
status quo that they had
achieved would be destroyed.
If students must get involved
in something, let them do their
homework, go out on dates,
coordinate their wardrobe, go
to parties, or join Keith Pos
ton's fight against liberal
activism.
R. DAVID LEWIS JR.
Freshman
Business
tradition of John Lennon's Bagism move
ment, anonymous makers d'art taped
together paper bags and inflated them for
your visual enjoyment.
Problem is, the aforementioned artistes
hooked the phallic-esque objects to the
central heating ducts, allowing air to escape
through only one six-inch porthole.
Scrambled eggs advises not breathing
when viewing the objects. The air in the
gallery is decidedly unfresh.
The Pit, Thursday An 'egg was treated
to the most soulful acoustic rendition of the
Sex Pistols' "Anarchy in the U.K." while
returning from class on an otherwise dreary
and drizzly day. The band, a Hawaiian
sextet, played guitars, banjo, washboard and
assorted flutes. It had a name which was
not only unpronounceable, but unreadable
something artsy with a lot of vowels in
it.
A bagpiper came along and broke up the
action to the chagrin of those assembled.
Jo Fleischer and Grant Parsons dedicate
this week's 'eggs to the Rams Clubbers
who 're going to let 'em borrow their powder
blue motorhome and a pair of 50-yard line
tickets when the eggs return for
homecoming. .. ' ,