10The Daily Tar Heel Tuesday, January 19, 1988
She
Satlg
Olar
95th year of editorial freedom
Jill Gerber, Editor
Amy Hamilton, Managing Editor
Sally Pearsall, News Editor
KRISTEN GARDNER, University Editor
KlMBERLY EDENS, University Editor
LAURIE DUNCAN, State and National Editor
Leigh ann Mcdonald, cuy Editor
MIKE BERARDINO, Sports Editor
FELISA NEURINGER, Business Editor
HANNAH DRUM, Features Editor
Elizabeth Ellen. Arts Editor
Charlotte Cannon, Photography Editor
CATHY McHUGH, Omnibus Editor
Fordham sat out Crum affair
board
Addressing the
NCAA convention
last week. Chan
cellor Christopher upJKUil
Fordham spoke
out strongly about values and sports
manship in college athletics. While
many of his points were valid, his
speech lost much of its punch follow
ing the buyout of football coach Dick
Crum.
Echoing sentiments he has
expressed throughout his career,
Fordham said sports are dictated by
a distorted and confused sense of
values. He pushed for freshman
ineligibility and spoke of his concern
over a growing lack of sportsmanship.
He also said these distorted values are
behind almost all of the economic
considerations in college sports, and
that this is a societal problem.
Although Fordham has fought to
de-emphasize the importance of col
lege athletics, his actions during the
Crum affair fly in the face of the stands
he has taken. While his speech hit on
important points, Fordham's silence
during the affair contrasted sharply
with his harsh words last week.
No one can be sure how much of
a role Fordham played in the mess
last semester. He refused to discuss
Cram's status, citing a law which he
said prevented him from talking about
personnel matters. This law, however,
contains a clause allowing the head of
a department to release any files or
information, when the inspection of
such a file is "essential to maintaining
the integrity of such department." It
would seem that Fordham could have
asked athletic director John Swofford
to do just that, since unsubstantiated
speculation was obviously a threat to
the integrity of both the department
and the University.
But even if Fordham were unable
to speak out at the time, he should
be entirely able to do so now, since
Crum is out and on his way to Kent
State. Before he ends his term as
chancellor, Fordham should tell his
full story so this debacle does not drag
on indefinitely.
As the head of the University, the
chancellor should be more than
capable of quelling such chaos and
taking charge of the situation. If
Fordham felt his hands were tied
during the Crum affair, he should
speak up especially since a new
chancellor is on the way, and needs
a clearly defined role. The push for
this clarification can come only from
Fordham himself.
Senators quash fair play
Across the nation a heated debate
has been waging about a paragraph
slipped into the 2,100-page, 30-pound
Continuing Resolution passed by
Congress and signed into law by
President Reagan before Christmas.
The main reason the paragraph has
garnered so much attention is that it
bears on the conflict between two
public heavyweights: Sen. Edward
Kennedy and media mogul Rupert
Murdoch.
But the real issue is not the person
alities of the two men. It is the gross
state of the federal government in
enacting laws, and it is, in this instance,
an example of Congress inefficiency
allowing two men to set law for this
country without debate.
Rupert Murdoch, a brash Austral
ian who became an American citizen
to buy newspapers and television
stations at a rate that he was disal
lowed as a foreigner, owns a news
paper and television station in both
Boston and New York City. This is
supposed to be illegal under "cross
ownership" prohibitions. But the
Federal Communications Commis
sion had been permitting Murdoch to
continue ownership.
And then Ted Kennedy stepped in.
Kennedy doesn't like Murdoch
much, especially since Murdoch's
Boston Herald often refers to him as
"fat boy." So, when no one was
watching, he and Sen. Fritz Hollings
wrote into the resolution that the FCC
can no longer waive the cross
ownership regulation. Now Murdoch
must sell one news vehicle in both
markets.
Certainly Murdoch is not the most
sympathetic of victims. Few defend his
style of journalism. But then Kennedy
isn't the most honorable gentleman,
either, with a past that includes
cheating , in college and
Chappaquiddick.
Personality faults aside, Kennedy
and Hollings pulled a political coup
by flouting the ethics on which the
government is based. They snuck the
legislation into an omnibus spending
bill which no one could read in its
entirety before the year-end deadline
and avoided a debate they would have
lost.
They did this by enforcing the law
a bad law. The FCC had given
Murdoch an extension on cross
ownership because the assumptions
for the original law were no longer
valid. When the prohibition was
promulgated in 1975 there was greater
opportunity for one media group to
control all news outlets in a commun
ity. In today's world of satellite and
cable this is no longer a worry.
In the words of New York mayor
Ed Koch, Hollings and Kennedy
mugged the city. They did it by
exploiting the confused state of affairs
that plagues the government at year's
end a state for which the two of
them are very much responsible.
Jon Rust
The Daily Tar Heel
Editorial Writers: Matt Bivcns, Sharon Kcbschull, Brian McCuskcy and Jon Rust.
Editorial Assistants: Gary Greene, David Lagos and Laura Pearlman.
Layout: Cara Bonnett, Deirdre Fallon, Peter Lineberry, Joe McCall and Mandy Spence.
News: Kari Barlow, Jeanna Baxter, Laura Bennett, Lydian Bernhardt, Brenda Campbell, Jenny Cloninger, Staci
Cox, Laura DiGiano, Carrie Dove, Lindsay Hayes, Kyle Hudson, Michael Jackson, Helen Jones, Susan Kauffman,
Hunter Lambeth, Will Lingo, Barbara Linn, Lynne McClintock, Brian McCollum, Stephanie Marshall, Myrna Miller,
Smithson Mills, Rebecca Nesbit, Susan Odenkirchen, Cheryl Pond, Amy Powell, Beth Rhea, Becky Riddick, Guinevere
Ross, Mandy Spence, William Taggart, Clay Thorp, Jackie Williams and Amy Winslow. Mark Folk and Justin
McGuire, senior writers. Angela Joines and Helle Nielsen, wire editors. Brian Long, assistant business editor.
Sports: Chris Spencer, assistant sports editor. James Surowiecki, senior writer. Robert D'Arruda, Steve Giles, Dave
Glenn, Dave Hall, Clay Hodges, Brendan Mathews, Patton McDowell, Jim Muse, Keith Parsons, Andy Podolsky
and Langston Wertz.
Features: Laura Jenkins, Corin Ortlam, Leigh Pressley, Karen Stegman, Kathy Wilson and Julie Woods.
Arts: James Burrus, senior writer. Scott Cowen, Stephanie Dean, Kim Donehower, David Hester, Julie Olson, Kelly
Rhodes, Alston Russell and Richard Smith.
Photography: Christie Blom, Tony Deifell, Janet Jarman, David Minton, Elizabeth Morrah and Julie Stovall.
Copy Editors: Karen Bell and Kaarin Tisue, assistant news editors. Cara Bonnett, Carrie Burgin, Julia Coon, Whitney
Cork, Bert Hackney, Lisa Lorentz and Sherry Miller.
Cartoonists: Jeff Christian, Bill Cokas and Greg Humphreys.
Campus Calendar: Mindelle Rosenberg and David Starnes.
Business and Advertising: Anne Fulcher, general manager; Patricia Glance, advertising director; Joan Worth, advertising
coordinator; Peggy Smith, advertising manager; Sheila Baker, business manager; Michael Benfield, Lisa Chorebanian,
Ashley Hinton, Kellie McElhaney, Chrissy Mennitt, Stacey Montford, Lesley Renwrick, Julie Settle, Dave Slovensky,
Dean Thompson, Amanda Tilley and Wendy Wegner, advertising representatives; Stephanie Chesson, classified
advertising representative; and Kris Carlson, secretary.
Distribution Tucker Stevens, manager.
Delivery Leon Morton, manager; Billy Owens, assistant.
Production: Bill Leslie and Stacy Wynn. Rita Galloway, Leslie Humphrey, Stephanie Locklear and Tammy Sheldon,
production assistants.
Printing: The Chapel Hill Newspaper.
teadeirs' Forom
Fraud infects society at all levels
Like a lifeline, a strand of nouns,
adjectives and a verb are tossed in
the air. It is a tired phrase already.
And classes have just begun. "How was
your break?" A month ago the same
thought was behind the salutations from
those at home. Only then the focus was
schools, small college towns or urban
campuses, parties and the sexes.
The words are used in attempt to connect
separate realities school life and home
life that coordinate in the individual
consciousness. But outside of me and you
the view is never whole. Lives retold are
severed bits, foreign even to the speaker.
And so the answer about my vacation, your
vacation, can only hint at what has
happened. Yet to be friends, to know each
other, to understand the bonds between
us of values and ideas, we must ask. And
try to answer.
The problem is that the question is rarely
uttered as to actually want an answer.
Already we are too busy, and a mere
response, "was a blast, super, relaxing,"
will do fine it seems. If more is offered
the eyes, bright with friendly recognition
at first, soon wander from the tales. The
episode is uncovered. It is between dim
acquaintances on different paths to
success, who have forgotten or never
known who the other person is, grabbing
for words not as meaning but as symbols.
Trite words hold too many of us up.
We pass the time in a social, verbal treading
of water, taking rests against the line as
needed, until moving on. I do not wish
to advocate that we dismiss the line; only,
that until we let it loose will we be able
to take the plunge into friendship. It can
be a scary dive. And a worthy goal for
a new year.
Jon Rust
Editorial Writer
There are other worthy goals for this
new year, and I have heard friends tell of
keeping up to date with their textbook
reading, attending class and being more
frugal. Others talk about writing a book.
And then, the most ambitious one,
perhaps, is the resolution to find one's self
and focus on a career plan. For seniors
this is a more immediate undertaking than
for the rest of us. But we are all battling
with the future's uncertainty in our own
ways, trying to determine terms of success.
One way not to find success was
displayed last week by David Bloom, a
1983 Duke graduate. At the beginning of
the week Bloom was on top of the world,
a success in almost everyone's eyes. Indeed,
he seemed to have it all: a Manhattan
condominium, a Long Island beach house,
a Mercedes-Benz, an Aston Martin con
vertible, pearl, diamond and platinum
necklaces.
Bloom also had art roomfuls of art
worth nearly $5 million. And his $1 million
pledge in November to set up an endow
ment for Duke's art museum had made
him the toast of his alma mater.
But last week David Bloom was arrested
for fraud. His bank accounts were frozen.
His reputation shattered.
The story is that he set himself up as
a self-proclaimed money manager in
Manhattan, convinced people to invest in
his business savvy to the tune of $10
million, falsified a couple records and then
treated himself to a materialistic smorgas
bord. His true love, art appreciation, led
him to donate to Duke. But it was the
obsession with being deemed successful by
those around him that ultimately ruled
everything he did.
Now that the bogus means Bloom
employed to gather wealth have been
illuminated his friends have become hard
to find. Duke alumni whom he once
associated with are quick to point out the
years past and the distance between them.
And they stress that Bloom was not really
one of them.
In the words of one, a past president
of the Duke fraternity whose members
wore the right clothes, drove the right cars
and were seen in the right company, "He
wanted to live this lifestyle that wasnt
really his. You can't be something you're
not. I think people can see through that."
Yes, Bloom was vain. But the horror
of it all is that the life he was aspiring
to is the life of many. Bloom lost sight
of those he was cheating to amass money.
He was found out. Most are not. They
play their games thinking that they are in,
not hurting anyone, preening their egos,
and living with false symbols.
It's convenient for bystanders to say that
Bloom didn't make it, that he was a fraud
in every way. But Bloom did make it. For
a while he was the king. How disillusioning
to think his material accomplishments are
the symbols that our society values! And
now that they have evaporated, society
hopes that he will, too.
Jon Ritst is a sophomore English major
from Cape Girardeau, Mo.
Activism begins
at home
To the editor:
It saddened me to find Dale
McKinley's picture on the front
page of the Jan. 15 DTH
celebrating either his "small
victory" or his winning "in a
big way," depending on which
quote you choose in the story
or how firm a grasp you have
on reality. A victory? For
whom? Over what? Did the
CIA stop its clandestine activ
ities? Is there a sudden severe
shortage of manpower at the
CIA? Has anyone's view of the
CIA been changed? Has any
thing been accomplished?
IVe been told that even if
nothing were accomplished
(and I've yet to encounter
anyone who can show me
something was), at least it was
a moral victory. The CIA has
been violating laws all over the
world and causing untold
numbers of people to suffer. If
you confront the CIA and
demand an explanation you
will be told simply that it is
permissible to break a law in
order to prevent a greater
crime, such as a country falling
under a repressive dictatorship,
turning communist, freeing
itself from dependence on the
United States, etc. When Dale
McKinley appeared before
District Court to explain why
he broke the law, he success
fully argued that it is permiss
ible to break a law in order to
prevent a greater crime, such
as the CIA breaking laws in
order to prevent a greater
crime. Moral victory? At best,
you cant tell the players apart,
and at worst this "small vic
tory" is a justification of the
kind of fuzzy ethical thinking
in which the CIA indulges.
The bitter irony in all this is
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that our heroic protesters'
commitment to the side of
angels increases as their dis
tance from the problem
increases, and the likelihood of
their making any meaningful
contribution decreases. There is
a score of local problems
illiterate adults, battered and
abused children, people freez
ing to death on the streets
where active student involve
ment can make a measurable
difference. Of course involve
ment would require more than
stopping between classes to
chant catchy slogans, and even
worse, would require giving up
the cheap publicity stunts. As
the trend in campus activism
can be characterized by the
"victory" of style over sub
stance, I doubt that will
happen.
KEITH COCHRAN
Senior
RTVMP
Editorial lost
in space
To the editor:
In reference to Jill Gerber's
editorial of Jan. 13, "Put SOs
in perspective," I sincerely
question her qualifications to
comment on the decade of the
1960s, since she apparently
does not realize that the first
manned lunar landing, Apollo
11, was July 20, 1969 not
"late '68" as the editorial
claimed. The Christmas 1968
flight of Apollo 8, the first
venture of humanity beyond
Earth orbit, is also an impor
tant event in space history, and
it may be that she confused the
two.
I understand that she is
probably one of the people she
mentions without "any
memory of the '60s at all." That
gives her every reason to refer
to a history book.
I also suggest that misleading
hyperbole like "the single tri
umph of a dark year for man
kind" be avoided in future
editorials. The Apollo program
was a glorious achievement for
humanity (one we have since
thrown away, sadly), but
scarcely the only positive activ
ity of 1969 (or 1968, as she has
it)!
JONATHAN LEECH
Graduate
Computer Science
Letters policy
a All letters must be typed,
double-spaced on a 60-space
line, for ease of editing. A
maximum of 250 words is
optimal.
a When submitting letters
or columns, students should
include the following: name,
year in school, major, phone
number and the date
submitted.
Fraternities' efforts deserve recognition
Editor's note: The author is president
of the Inter-fraternity Council.
To the editor:
The Greek system has increasingly fallen
prey to the censure of The Daily Tar Heel
over the course of this school year. The
bulk of these criticisms have fallen into
four major categories: fraternity housing
conditions, gambling, hazing and rape.
Although the accusations made may
contain some element of credibility, much
of the reporting has been sensationalized
and one-sided.
The condemnation of 12 fraternity
houses has proved to be popular with the
press since it was first reported in August.
In fact, the fraternity condemnations are
such newsworthy items that the DTH has
insisted on recapitulating the same trite
account for six months after the fact.
Perhaps a more germane issue would be
the tremendous amount of money and
effort that fraternity members have
devoted to the repair and renovation of
their houses that have fallen into disrepair
over years of use.
Gambling is a problem that has existed
for years in the University community and
has recently become a hot issue in the news
due to the ongoing investigation by
authorities into alleged student-run book
making operations. Although gambling
may be a serious problem that needs to
be dealt with, it is ludicrous to characterize
fraternity members as the sole orchestra
tors of some sinister gambling ring, as
recent DTH articles suggest.
Hazing has existed at UNC longer than
fraternities have. Although it is strictly
forbidden by most fraternities' national
charters, as well as by state law, some
fraternities continue to practice hazing
during the course of the pledge education
period. Contrary to popular belief, the
ongoing trend in the Greek system is to
phase out hazing in all of its forms. Groups
such as the IFC are acutely aware of the
hazing problem and are working with the
presidents of the fraternities to educate
members and make them aware of the
possible consequences of their actions.
Rape is a tragic crime that has, unfor
tunately, been committed on this campus
a number of times over the years. The
recent arraignment of two students charged
with second-degree rape of an unknown
female student has received a lot of
publicity. The DTH seems to have tried
the case already and found the fraternity
system guilty! From the very first report,
the DTH has emphasized the accused
individuals' fraternal affiliation as if it may
have played some role in the alleged crime.
As if that is not enough, the paper has
also been compelled to focus on the rape
charges in subsequent articles concerning
the fraternity system. Whether or not the
defendants will be found guilty is for the
courts to decide. Fraternities themselves,
however, should not be implicated in the
process.
Finally, in all of its eagerness to report
the shortcomings of the fraternity system,
the DTH has overlooked the contributions
that fraternity members make to the
University and to the community.
Members make significant contributions to
many campus organizations and also
constitute a large percentage of the
volunteers for such causes as the Big Buddy
program and coaching local youth athletic
teams, not to mention the thousands of
dollars which they have raised over the
years for various charities. The good will
of many fraternity members often con
tinues even after graduation in the form
of contributions to the University. A major
source of alumni contributions has tradi
tionally been former fraternity members.
Speaking on behalf of the IFC and the
many fraternity members who have grown
tired of the DTH's mistreatment, I invite
you to spend more time looking at both
sides of the coin in the future.
BRENT MILGROM
Junior
Economics
i