10The Daily Tar HeelMonday, January 25, 1988
lailg
95th year of editorial freedom
Fenner deserves
When the
murder charge
against Derrick
Fenner was
boaixJ
opinion
dropped
in
November, a lot of people were
scratching their heads. Few had ever
given thought to the possibility that
the former UNC running back could
have innocent. Now, Fenner faces one
charge each of possession of a firearm
and cocaine. Despite the charges, the
University has allowed him to take two
correspondence courses.
He has every right to do so.
Although no one could call Fenner a
model student, he deserves the same
chance as everyone else to redeem
himself academically. If he is innocent
as yet before the law, he must be
considered innocent by the University.
Students and faculty may criticize
officials for giving Fenner special
consideration. Unlike the majority of
students who apply for readmission,
he appeared before two committees
that determined his status. But admin
istrators would have come under
greater fire for glossing over an
application from an individual with
serious criminal charges hanging over
his head than for granting him a
hearing.
In any case, Fenner's status as a
student is still very much in question.
He has not been enrolled, only given
'Stars and Bars'
In the early 1960s the Confederate
flag was raised over the Alabama
statehouse for the first time since the
Civil War. It has continued to flap in
the wind through the term of Gov.
George "segregation forever" Wallace,
and amidst the racial violence and
protest of the Civil Rights Movement,
flying below the U.S. and Alabama
state flags.
But if the National Association for
the Advancement of Colored People
has its way, the "Stars and Bars" of
Alabama will be torn down and
mothballed. Confederate flags over
statehouses in Georgia, Mississippi
and South Carolina are also targeted
by the NAACP.
Many Alabamians and other Sou
therners claim the rebel flag is a symbol
of their heritage.
Of course, a flag by definition is a
symbol. Unfortunately the Confeder
ate flag has come to imply all the
wrong things about the South
racism, bigotry and Ku Klux Klan
lynchings.
Debate over the issue has always
been clouded and emotional. Thomas
Reed, president of the Alabama
NAACP, has even threatened to tear
down the flag himself. Alabama Gov.
Guy Hunt childishly countered that
chain-link fences, erected around the
Capitol while it is undergoing reno
vation, can be used to keep Reed out.
The Daily Tar Heel
Editorial Writers: Matt Bivens, Sharon Kebschull, Brian McCuskey and Jon Rust.
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Amy Winslow. Mark Folk and Justin McGuire, senior writers. Juliellen Sarver, wire editor. Brian Long, assistant
business editor.
Sports: Chris Spencer and Jim Muse, assistant sports editors. James Surowiecki, senior writer. Robert D'Arruda,
Steve Giles, Dave Glenn, Dave Hall, Clay Hodges, Brendan Mathews, Patton McDowell, Keith Parsons, Andy Podolsky
and Langston Wertz.
Features: Laura Jenkins, Jim Mock, Corin Ortlam, Leigh Pressley, Kathy Wilson and Julie Woods.
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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, dty Editor
MIKE BERARDINO, Sports Editor
FEUSA NEURINGER, Business Editor
HANNAH DRUM, Features Editor
Elizabeth Ellen, Arts Editor
Charlotte Cannon, Photography Editor
CATHY McHUGH, Omnibus Editor
a chance
the chance to try for readmission,
according to Susan Ehringhaus, assist
ant to the chancellor. It could take a
long time for him to amass the courses
needed to become a full-time student.
And even if he managed to regain full
time status before his trial, he could
be forced to sit out a semester under
the new UNC-system drug policy.
The motivation behind the decision
to make Fenner eligible to take
correspondence courses could have
taken two paths. First, the University
could have seen the potential to bring
Fenner, who led the ACC in rushing
two seasons ago, back on the football
team. Athletic Director John Swof
ford has said that if reinstated, Fenner
could be eligible to play in 1989.
Second, officials could have looked
upon him as an anathema on the
athletic department. His academic
rollercoaster ride and criminal charges
have brought scrutiny upon the entire
program, and the University may have
been eager to sever all ties with him.
Every student applying for readmis
sion should be judged by the same
criteria, and Fenner did not deserve
any undue favoritism or criticism.
Under federal law, the University
cannot divulge the circumstances of his
case. Students and faculty worried
about the integrity of the University
can only hope that the committee
treated Fenner justly.
belongs to past
True, many people view the flag as
a mark of the independent spirit of
the South. Painted on the side of Bo
and Luke Duke's "General Lee," or
draped over the doors of South
Carolina bars, the flag is only an
anachronism, a token of regional
pride.
But whatever the flag means to
admirers of Robert E. Lee and Jef
ferson Davis, to those who have buried
the Civil War it is a badge of hate.
Television clips show the Confederate
flag being carried proudly to White
Patriot Party meetings. It hangs
behind speakers at hate-group rallies,
often side-by-side the Nazi swastika.
Perhaps there was a time when the
flag represented something else, some
thing better, but no longer.
The people of Alabama should let
go of the bitterness of the Civil War
and stop waving the bloody shirt. No
law or statute keeps the flag there, only
the precedent set when it was first
raised in the '60s as a retort to the
cheeky demands of the Civil Rights
Movement.
The rebel flag over the Alabama
statehouse goes against everything
accomplished in the name of equality
and justice. Until the flag is taken
down, it will only sanction intolerance
in a region plagued by racial tension.
Matt Bivens
Athletic program retains integrity
the last several months have brought
unusual visibility, not all of it
welcomed and too much of it
unflattering and undeserved, to our
University's athletic program. Perhaps this
overabundance of media attention serves
to confirm UNC basketball head coach
Dean Smith's often repeated observation
that, "Athletics is to the university what
the front porch is to a home it is the
most visible part, yet certainly not the most
important."
Unfortunately, some media have played
more than their appropriate roles as
observers and caused or colored the
interpretations that have been given to
these matters. A reporter knowingly
misrepresented Derrick Fenner's SAT
scores, realizing that the University is not
permitted to reveal the exact scores of any
student. Others suggested that our admis
sions standards for athletes were faulty
because Fenner was admitted to the
University. Yet less than 20 percent of those
who are admitted to the University as
exceptions to the admissions standards are
athletes. Furthermore, athletes who are
admitted as exceptions are admitted by a
faculty committee not the athletic
department.
It would be unfortunate to draw adverse
conclusions about our University's athletic
program from events surrounding head
coach Dick Crum's departure. Clearly, it
was no secret that there was an erosion
of support of the football program over
the last few years. Some cite the win-loss
record as the primary concern. Sports
writers have observed a difficulty with
recruiting North Carolina high school
students to play at UNC. Poor interper
sonal communications and low graduation
rates for Crum's players have been
suggested as other reasons.
A thoughtful, careful, sensitive process
had been underway to determine what
should be the future of the Carolina
football program. Last fall, Crum privately
discussed his desire to resign at the end
of the 1987 season. Unfortunately,
unnamed sources claiming, but never
Keep lifestyles
out of politics
To the editor
To all of the Student Con
gress members who voted
against the anti-discrimination
bill for the inclusion of sexual
preference, allow me to
explain, once again, that the
lives of lesbians and gays are
not "topics for debate." Our
lives are not a political issue
except for the political context
in which you, the heterosexual,
the white, the male and the
institutionally human, oppress
us.
The wielding of power over
the powerless is neither an
exercise of the democratic
process nor is it an action
engendered from a "moral
imperative." It is further deg
radation of those of us who live
and breathe degradation daily
because of who we are.
Heterosexuals are responsi
ble for the oppression of les
bians and gay men. They have
two options available: either
work for the liberation of
lesbians and gay men and
confront injustice, or accept the
fact that they are perpetuating
the system of male suprema
cism responsible for not only
the myriad acts of violence
against lesbians and gays, but
also for the institutionalization
of rape, battery and degrada
tion of women.
If you haven't realized it by
now, let me make this perfectly
clear: homophobia and
woman-hating are undeniably
and inextricably linked.
Freedom cannot exist where
there is no justice. This applies
to the University as well as the
lj)
Contra aid
Iwenty-two cents has never been so
important to freedom around the
JLL world.
The United States will soon vote on the
most important funding request that it has
faced in many years. The decision to fund
the Nicaraguan freedom fighters the
contras will drastically affect our policy
in the Central American region. Also, this
vote will determine if communism is to gain
yet another foothold in the Western
Hemisphere.
The Soviet Union is devoting an esti
mated $5.5 billion in aid to Cuba and
Nicaragua five times what the United
States is spending in the entire region. The
communist money is to ensure that the
Marxist Leninist Sandinista regime
remains a thorn in the side of the U.S.
defense and a threat to our citizens. Yet,
some of our own congressmen refuse to
believe that the Sandinistas are an integral
part of the global revolution that began
in 1917.
As citizens of a free country, we must
actively support the cause of freedom in
the region by sending comparable military
equipment to the only effective organized
t
Douglas Dibbert
Guest Writer
proven to be, high University officials, were
permitted to move this careful and
thoughtful process into the public domain.
False claims were made regarding Crum's
likely firing, his hold-out for financial
settlements for his assistant coaches and
pressure from the Rams Club.
All decisions regarding Crum's resigna
tion were made carefully and thoughtfully
by appropriate University officials and not
by Carolina alumni. Our association's
officers and directors, who are elected by
our nearly 50,000 members, took no action
regarding this matter. Understandably,
members of the Educational Foundation,
some 8,000, also had concerns, but there
is no evidence of the Educational Foun
dation's officers and directors having taken
action. Only at the request of the Univer
sity, did the foundation's Executive
Committee agree to provide the funds
necessary to fulfill the terms of Crum's
resignation.
Alumni should be reassured that we have
an athletic program of which we can all
be proud. More than five years ago
Chancellor Christopher Fordham offered
specific suggestions for reducing the
undesirable commercial aspects of inter
collegiate athletics. Athletic Director John
Swofford is one of the country's most
respected athletic administrators, and just
last month asked that his name be
withdrawn as one of three finalists for the
athletic directorship at the University of
Michigan another public university
respected for excelling in both academics
and athletics. Of course, we are all most
familiar with the national respect that
coach Dean Smith has earned over the
years. Fordham, Swofford, Smith, as well
as Crum, have argued repeatedly that
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entire country. Either all per
sons are equal or they are not.
One cannot be half equal, or
sort of equal or equal except
for (fill in the blank). Equality
exists or it does not.
If the bill introduced had
been called an anti-oppression
bill, the vapidity of the Con
gress' decision would have been
more clear.
iar names, unfamiliar names
and even a few friends running
for government offices, very
important offices. With such a
combination, student voters
should be extremely choosy.
If you're a new student, take
time to read about different
issues and stands. I beg you not
to vote for John Smith just
because it seems everyone
knows who he is; that doesn't
make him the best person for
the office. Remember, this is
not a popularity contest.
If you have been here long
enough to have friends running
for an office, do everyone
(including yourself and your
friend) a favor and ask them
about their campaigns. Why
are they running for office?
What makes them qualified or
experienced for the job? Do
they have a different angle of
approach for the job?
By questioning a friend or
other candidates in these areas,
youH be helping in several
STEVE SULLIVAN
Evening College
Take voting
seriously
To the editor:
Yes, as we can all tell from
the posters, fliers and petitions,
it's election time. People will be
making speeches and going
door-to-door for support. As in
every election, there are famil
preserves democracy
Randall McBride
Guest Writer
fighting force that stands between Nica
ragua and the southern border of the
United States the freedom fighters. It
is with this hardware that they can engage
the Sandinistas in their country and
preclude the use of U.S. soldiers to do the
same when inevitable communist expan
sion leads to the fall of Mexico.
We can fight communism now by
sending military, humanitarian and eco
nomic aid to the freedom fighters. Or we
can do nothing and wait until we are forced
to defend Texas, New Mexico, Arizona
and California on our own soil with
thousands of our own soldiers.
Peace in Central America should be the
highest priority for the United States, and
we should actively seek ways to bring about
a fair and agreeable plan. The much
heralded Arias Plan is simply not a viable
option. It doesn't include the contras in
freshmen eligibility in football and basket
ball be eliminated. All have demonstrated
commitment to placing academic perfor
mance ahead of athletic achievement.
Perhaps, as a society, we are obsessed
with athletics. Athleticism is one area
where there are clear "winners" and
"losers." We can see the statistics. We can
add up the W's and L's. We can crown
national champions and witness national
tournaments. Our real frustration is with
society, which generally places a higher
dollar value on athletic achievements-than
on the achievements of educators,
researchers, and many others whose
contributions, though not as visible, are
more enduring than those of the athlete.
Our athletic program is based upon
excellence and integrity. This is equally true
for our academic programs. We have had
an immense stability in our athletic
program over the years. In the last eight
years, we have had in all of our 13 men's
sports fewer changes in head coaches than
each of the ACC schools in North Carolina
has had in head football coaches alone.
We do not have a win-loss fixation, but
we want to be competitive. We will
continue to play by the rules and the alumni
can be proud and reassured that University
administrators will be making decisions
regarding athletics in this context.
So, as we welcome Mack Brown, who
appears to be a very exciting new addition
to our University family, let us do it with
lowered voices but not lowered expecta
tions. Let us not be so quick to judge
everything related to athletics. Let us not
permit the media to color our judgment
nor dirninish our pride in the institution
or in our fine athletic program. We are
an institution with a rich history and high
values. Let us respect each other as
individuals. Let us assume honesty and
integrity in University officials.
Douglas Dibbert, a 1970 UNC graduate,
is executive director of the General Alumni
Association.
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ways. First, it will be good
practice for the candidates.
Second, no one should be an
ignorant voter (it's better to be
a non-voter and not make
whimsical decisions that affect
fellow students). Third, if you
decide to help a friend in his
campaign, you need a better
reason for others to support
them than, "John Smith is my
friend, so please vote for him."
Yes, that does sound a little
childish. That kind of a state
ment will hurt a candidate's
campaign, not help it.
So, please, fellow students,
old and new, be educated and
thoughtful voters. Youll be
doing everyone a favor
yourself, your friends, the
candidates and the school. We
all want the most capable
people representing us in office.
MARY HOLLEMAN
French
Sophomore
the negotiation process, nor does it stop
the u!s.S.R. and Cuba from actively
supporting the Sandinistas while it man
dates that further support for the freedom
fighters be stopped. We cannot be fooled
by the Arias Plan, another communist
attempt to satisfy the American public.
Since the beginning of the Communist
Party in 1917, not one pro-communist
government has ever been negotiated out
of office, nor has one pro-communist
government allowed free elections to
remove it from office. The fact of the
matter is that the Sandinistas will not be
the first.
We have to make sure that our con
gressmen know that we want to defend
our country now, not later. Write, tele
phone, or visit their local offices imme
diately. They are your representatives and
should be responsive to your desires. Don't
you think that the defense of the United
States in the Western Hemisphere is worth
a 22-cent stamp?
Randall McBride is a senior chemistry
major from Winston-Salem.