10The Daily Tar Heel Tuesday, March 15, 1988
Wandering 00 the sand in la-la land
96 th year of editorial freedom
Jean Lutes,
Kathy Peters, Managing Editor
Karen Bell, Neus Editor
MATT BlVENS, Associate Editor
KlMBERLY EDENS, University Editor
SHARON KEBSCHULL, State and National Editor
MIKE BERARDINO, Sports Editor
Kelly Rhodes, Arts Editor
MANDY SPENCE, Design Editor
Give peace a chance in Bsrael
Ideological and political differences
have divided Jews and Palestinians for
centuries. But in the last 40 years, Israel
and the Arab world have broken into
armed conflict several times. On one
of these occasions, the 1967 Six Days
War, Israel began its occupation of the
previously Arab-controlled areas of
the Gaza Strip and the West Bank.
Today, Israeli Prime Minister Yitz
hak Shamir begins his first full day
of meetings with U.S. government
officials to discuss Israel's policies
toward the Palestinians in those
territories. The talks follow months of
violent protests by Palestinians in the
occupied territories. They will prob
ably focus on a U.S. peace proposal
that Secretary of State George Shultz
outlined last week during a visit with
Shamir in Israel a proposal Shamir
has flatly rejected.
The U.S. peace proposal is based
on the concept of "land for peace."
It creates a timetable by which specific
goals must be addressed. The plan calls
for temporary, limited autonomy for
the Palestinians in the occupied areas
and an international council to preside
over Israeli-Arab Palestinian negoti
ations. It places the responsibility for
a permanent solution in the hands of
those directly involved.
And as the Palestinian population,
now 1.5 million, continues to increase,
the refugee problem will cause further
bloodshed and revolution. Schultz has
Artists' rights vs.
In the United States, when John Q.
Public buys a new suit, it becomes his
property. He can wear an ugly tie with
it, even though the "effect" of the suit
would be ruined. He can wear it
whenever and wherever he wants
to a board meeting, a baseball game
or a mud wrestling match. And when
the suit is no longer in style, he can
hang it in his closet.
But this you-buy-it-it's-yours
approach disgruntles many artists. In
recent years, artists have fought to
obtain a degree of control over works
they have sold to others.
Artists should be protected from
those who wish to change their
creations. Tampering with a work of
art can change its meaning or message,
possibly misrepresenting the artist
whose name is associated with it.
Examples of this tampering are not
uncommon. Michael Jackson
acquired the rights to all Beatles songs,
and then allowed them to be used in
ad jingles, disgusting fans who believed
that such commercialization cheap
ened the Beatles' music. The colori
zation of old black and white movies
was also upsetting to many: movie
buffs used to reminiscing over classic
Bogart flicks suddenly found their
memories modernized for the Mc
Donald's generation.
Sometimes the tampering is more
subtle. Alterations in a painting's
r-G:p-n-Save
Faster than a speeding bullet! More
powerful than a locomotive! Able to leap
tall buildings in a single bound! Look! Up
in the sky! It's a bird! It's a plane! It's
Superman! And he's 50 years old.
Spawned in the mind of creator Jerry
Siegel, Superman came to life as the
ultimate American hero the righteous
defender of truth, justice and the American
way. When he was created way back in the
1930s, Superman was the quintessence of
the ideal superhero for America. He was
a male with steely blue eyes and black hair,
heavily muscled, every woman's dream
man, very moral (his strongest expletive was
"Great Scott!"), idealistic, eager to help
people in need and the ultimate optimist.
The Superman of today is much different
from the Superman of the 1930s. He's been
redesigned to be hip, now, with it, '80s. (His
circulation slumped. PC Comics felt they
had to do something. Can't lose money,
now, can we?) Now, Superman works out
with weights, wears round glasses and
combs his hair straight back. He's having
a passionate affair with Wonder Woman,
and Lois Lane is dating Lex Luthor. Says
Superman's redesigner, Jon Byrne, "We
knew we were going to offend some people,
but the modern audience now wants a
superhero who grunts, sweats and goes to
the bathroom."
Editor
JON RUST, Managing Editor
KAARIN TlSUE, Neus Editor
AMY HAMILTON, Associate Editor
KRISTEN GARDNER, University Editor
Will Lingo, aty Editor
LEIGH ANN McDONALD, features Editor
CATHY McHUGH, Omnibus Editor
DAVID MINTON, Photography Editor
described the situation as a "ticking
demographic time bomb."
Several points must be secured
before any negotiations begin. The
safety of Israel must be maintained;
and autonomy must come to the
Palestinians. Yasser Arafat, the leader
of the Palestinian Liberation Organ
ization, has stated his support of UN
resolutions 242 and 338, which affirm
Israel's right to exist while calling for
Palestinian self-determination.
For its part, the United States has
decided to negotiate with the Pales
tinians, provided that they are part of
a joint delegation with Jordan. Arafat
demands a separate Palestinian dele
gation, but this can be worked out in
negotiations.
Now, it is up to Israel. Thirty of
Israel's staunchest supporters in the
U.S. Senate have called upon Shamir
to accept the Shultz peace plan.
Shimon Peres, Israel's foreign affairs
minister and labor party leader, has
accepted the peace plan.
Past wrongs and injustices continue
to be used as justification for unyield
ing mind-sets. While excuses cannot
be made for the past, refusing a chance
for a safer future is foolish. The Shultz
plan offers something for everyone and
requires something from everyone. It
is not a resolution to the Palestinian
question but it can be an impetus
for lasting peace. Stuart Hathaway
public opinion
frame, lighting and positioning can
affect its impact. Furthermore; certain
works are site-specific designed with
definite surroundings in mind so
that they lose their effectiveness when
moved from those surroundings.
An example of a site-specific sculp
ture is Richard Serra's "Tilted Arc."
Serra was paid $175,000 to construct
the sculpture, a 120-foot long, 12-foot
high steel wall that runs across a plaza
in front of a New York office building.
Influenced by public complaints, the
purchasers now want to remove the
tilted wall. But Serra, arguing that
moving "Tilted Arc" is the same as
wrecking it, has taken his battle to the
courts. Defeated once, he continues to
appeal.
Serra and artists like him have a
valid concern. Unfortunately, their
works occupy space that doesn't
belong to them thus, they have no
right to require that their works never
be moved. Public opinion must deter
mine whether a work is worthy of
eternal praise not the artist himself,
who is a far from objective critic.
Congress members are now consid
ering several bills that would establish
artists' rights. If they pass such a bill,
they should draw a line between the
rights of artists and the rights of the
public. With luck, the two will rarely
clash; but when they do, the public
must come first. Matt Bivens
Well, Superman was fine the way he was. i
Who wants to watch a superhero go to the J
bathroom? Imagine: "Tune in next week J
when Superman urinates." I
People like Byrne would have us believe
that Superman should be an ethnic, liberal
Republican with a mistress who likes j
Sylvester Stallone movies and uses con-
doms to promote super-safe sex. Or maybe
he should be a woman, who chose not to I
marry after finding herself pregnant and
now lives as a single parent. She juggles I
career and lovers, watches "thirtysome-1
thing" and enjoys microwave popcorn and J
White Zinfindel between protests for gay J
rights and divestment. I
It's not that these occupations aren't
good. They're just not Superman.
And what about the American way? The i
American way of the '30s was vastly J
different from the American way of the j
1980s. Today we are barraged with news I
of cocaine dealers, insider trading, sex
scandals involving religious leaders and the I
AIDS epidemic. How can Superman i
defend that? J
Sure, he's a little corny, but he's Super-
man. He's perfect. He doesn't need to I
change to keep up with the 'SOs; he's ahead
of us already even if he can't fly faster I
than a superconductor and isn't stronger' i
than an MX missile. !
Flesh everywhere, the pale jiggling
flesh of rollerskaters just out of
hibernation, the brown leathery
flesh of forgotten Hollywood starlets, the
sleek varnished flesh of flexing body
builders. Wandering down the Venice
Beach bike path, I passed harried mothers
smearing Coppertone over their tiny red
infants, withered old men playing chess on
splintered benches, tanned surfers with
too-blond hair scoping the bikinis.
And music! Dozens of Bob Dylan clones
rasped out butchered versions of "Blowin'
in the Wind," breathing through harmon
icas tangled up in their beards. Impromptu
reggae bands formed and disappeared
a few bongos, a steel-string guitar, a brief
but passionate backing vocal, drumsticks
beating on the back of a bench. Ghetto
blasters blared out Motorhead and
Madonna. And the occasional sunbather
stretched out, humming to himself.
I breathed in the sweet smell of coconut
oil and sweat. An old woman wearing a
heavy black robe motioned to me. She sat
at a small table with a handwritten sign
"Tarot Card Reading, Your True
Nature Revealed."
"A dollar, boy, for the future, just a
dollar," she hissed.
"Is that a come-on or a threat?" I asked,
pointing to the sign.
"Your future, boy, whatever you want
to know. Maybe the girl of your dreams?"
She pulled a deck of large faded cards from
her robe and spread them on the table.
"Ah, no, that'd ruin the surprise. Thanks
anyway." She began muttering over the
cards and I walked away, sidestepping a
little kid racing by on a skateboard. He
held a sno-cone in one hand, and with the
other gave me the finger. Sighing, I looked
out over the glittering ocean; a jet flew
low over the horizon, etching a white
exhaust trail across the blue enamel sky.
Help STV reach
more students
To the editor:
I would like to take this
opportunity to express Student
Television's sincere apprecia
tion to all the students who
helped pass the STV referen
dum. With the proceeds of the new
student fees, STV hopes to
purchase new equipment, thus
offering more students hands
on experience. This new equip
ment will also be used to create
more video services for the
students. Student Television is
striving to be a leader in pro
viding news and entertainment
programming to UNC and
Chapel Hill.
In order for your campus TV
station to grow, we need the
continued support of you and
the administration. All stu
dents, whether they are on
campus or off-campus resi
dents, should be entitled access
to STV programming. This
means that a cable broadcast
ing system should be provided
to all dorms. STV needs your
voice to make the administra
tion realize the need for this
campus cable system.
Currently the University has
49 buildings wired with the
campus broadband telecom
munications system, and 19
more buildings are scheduled
for hook-up in the coming year.
This broadband can provide
students access to STV pro
gramming, as well as local and
AIDS threat to women downplayed
Editor's note: This is the first of a series
of four columns highlighting women's
issues, being printed in conjunction with
Women's Awareness Week at UNC.
An issue that affects all women is
AIDS, one of the most terrifying
diseases of our time. By looking
at how AIDS has affected women in the
first seven years of the epidemic, we can
learn some important lessons for the
future.
AIDS is still considered a white male
disease, although women are contracting
AIDS in record numbers. Eighty percent
of the women diagnosed with AIDS are
either black or Hispanic; blacks and
Hispanics also make up 90 percent of the
children with AIDS in the United States.
Imagine that you are a woman with a
low income in New York City, and you
think you have AIDS. First, how can you
be tested to find out if you actually have
the disease? Since the tests are often
expensive, you probably cannot afford to
be tested privately. But public testing
facilities are crowded and may not ensure
confidentiality.
And if you are tested and you confirm
that you have AIDS, you probably do not
have medical insurance, so you will have
to rely on the incomprehensible Medicare
Medicaid bureaucracy. You probably do
not have access to a support group; most
support groups and counselors work with
gay men, so you probably would feel out
of place. Also, most government and
private programs are not designed to
accommodate the needs of pregnant AIDS
victims.
Brian McCuskey
In the Funhouse
"You limping, man?" A small man with
skin like tree bark smiled from his chair
on the sand. "You wanna feel better?" The
sign at his feet read "Acupuncture Free."
He tapped a long needle against his
forehead.
"You've got to be kidding," I said. "Does
anyone actually let you "
"Sure, man, lots. You got a backache?
Headache? Or just want your attitude
elevated?"
"My attitude what?"
"Feel better, man, anywhere you want."
He held out the needle, sunlight flashing
off the point.
"Thanks, IH stick to Tylenol," I said,
backing away.
"YouH never know how good it can get."
"No doubt," I said.
A dark skeleton of a man sat at an
ancient upright piano wheeled onto the
bike path. His fingers skated over the
chipped ivory keys, picking out an old
ragtime tune. A sign was pasted to a large
glass jar half-full of change "Requests
50c." I dropped in two quarters and asked
for the Peacherine Rag; he bowed his head
solemnly and began to play.
I sat in the sand next to a grey-bearded
man covered with loops and loops of
colored plastic beads, hundreds of them.
Wisps of grey hair curled out of his ears.
An umbrella stood upright in the sand
beside him.
"Good choice, my friend," he said. His
teeth were the color of damp sand. I
nodded thanks.
"Lemme ask you something, do you like
Readers' Foraim
my Dip GoW GST BUMflB ) -7
TAtll mtfwS J
' f
national video services.
Please join with Student
Television to help us reach our
goal of an all-campus cable
system. Let us know how we're
doing and what you think we
could do better. Without the
students there would be no
need for Student Television at
the University of North
Carolina.
Again, thank you for your
support.
DON HARRIS
Station Manager
Student Television
Senior
RTMVP
Don't slam
South Campus
To the editor:
As residents of Hinton
James, we found Tuesday's
comment "at least now we don't
have to live in Hinton James"
("Some students win, some lose
in University housing lottery,"
March 1) offensive. Many
people call James home. We do
not consider this a punishment,
but rather a privilege. South
Campus and Hinton James
offer many unique living
opportunities that one cannot
appreciate if they have not been
lucky enough to experience
Pippa HoIIoway
Guest Writer
Prostitutes are at a high risk for receiving
and transmitting the AIDS virus. In
Newark, 86 percent of the prostitutes test
positive; in Miami, 56 percent carry the
virus. The media report the dangers AIDS
poses to gay men and drug users but
discussions of AIDS and prostitution
usually focus on the risk of the male
customer catching AIDS, not on the
danger to the prostitute. Many men refuse
to wear condoms during sex with pros
titutes because they do not care if these
women die of AIDS.
We must refuse to accept the way our
society devalues these women. The lives
of prostitutes are as important as the lives
of anyone else in oiir society, and they
deserve protection from AIDS.
Also, lesbians are affected by homopho
bia generated by AIDS, and often ignored
by the mass media. The media depict the
homosexual community as entirely com
posed of gay men, although it includes an
equal number of gay women, or lesbians.
When reporters write, "AIDS is often
transmitted through homosexual sex,"
they are making a false statement. No cases
of AIDS transmission through lesbian sex,
which is homosexual sex between women,
have been reported. People who preach
that AIDS is a punishment from God
should agree that lesbians must be the
"chosen people" because they do not
spread AIDS.
Reagan?" he said.
"Well . . . no."
He smiled. "Good. What about oral
sex?"
"What?"
"Do you like it? No, wait, sit down. Just
answer."
"Well, yes."
"I knew it! My theory works. The more
you like oral sex, the less you like Reagan.
I ask people the nosiest questions, so I
know. Who dyou want to see elected
president?"
"I dont know," I said. "I don't really
like any of them. But I haven't given it
a lot of thought."
He stared at the sand, head cocked
toward me, listening to the music. His pale
blue eyes bulged out slightly, as if
something were pushing out from within.
"You gotta be careful about them. The
politicians. You know anything about
inferential statistics?" I didnt. "Well, you
dont like rattlesnakes, do you? But you
never been bit by one, neither. You're
taking someone else's word for the fact that
you should stay away from them. No one
else tells you different, so you believe and
stay away from them. But who knows,
maybe rattlesnakes are okay, see what I
mean? Maybe they been lying all the time."
I shrugged. He shook his head. "Just
be careful of what they say, my friend.
There are a lot of crazy people out there.
Worse, some of them don't even know it."
He stood, sand falling off his clothes.
"Thanks for the song." I nodded and
watched him wander off across the beach,
umbrella in one hand, wiping the sweat
off his face with the other.
Brian McCuskey is a junior English
major from Los Angeles.
them. We would appreciate it
if those who know nothing
about South Campus would
refrain from making deroga
tory comments about our
home.
EMILY THOMPSON
Junior
Business Administration
ROBIN KIMMELMAN
Senior
Political Science International
Studies
Letters policy
B The DTH reserves the
right to edit for clarity,
vulgarity and disparity.
Also, heterosexual women suffer from
reports that the dangers of AIDS to the
heterosexual community are negligible.
But consider how the disease was spread
in Africa, where it probably originated. In
Africa, AIDS was spread through the
population by heterosexual intercourse.
The number of women with AIDS in
Africa is equal to the number of men. If
we assume that the disease will spread here
as it did in Africa, many heterosexual
women are in danger of dying from AIDS.
Women have made some great contri
butions to the fight against AIDS. The
private care facilities run for gay men and
drug users are modeled after women's
medical centers started in the 1960s.
Encouraging individuals to take charge of
their own health is an important part of
the feminist movement. When the gay
community mobilized to fight the spread
of AIDS, many lesbians joined gay men
in the struggle. In addition, lesbians have
participated as "AIDS buddies" and have
helped in education and support programs.
The effect of AIDS on women has been
minimized in the media and by popular
opinion. Despite our many differences, all
women suffer when they are overlooked
in the AIDS epidemic. During Women's
Awareness Week, let's try to remember the
struggle against AIDS and the work that
still must be done. By acknowledging our
differences as well as our similarities, we
have tremendous potential to help our
selves and the rest of our society.
Pippa Holloway is a sophomore music
and history major from Bethesda,
Maryland.