The Daily Tar Heel Monday, March 21, 198813
Opinion
trofe worsens Sou Soiotlh
'ith each day, the situation
in South Africa continues
to deteriorate. Three weeks
ago, the repressive regime, under the
command of the inimitable P.T.
Botha, restricted the actions of 17
anti-apartheid organizations. The
move was one in a never-ending cycle
of ordinances that many experts feel
will only escalate the violent conflict
between blacks and whites.
"The government is trying to
outflank the black opposition," noted
Mark Swilling, a South African
political scientist. "But that's not
going to solve its problems. They will
worsen because now there are no
legitimate, non-violent channels left
in which to express grievances."
The Botha coalition is now under
a great deal of pressure from the white
minority, anxious to alter its
announced course toward reform. In
the recent March 2 by-elections, a
prelude to the highly significant
March 29 Transvaal by-elections, the
Conservative party garnered an
impressive 60 percent of the vote. As
a result, the government, presently
under the leadership of Botha's
National Democratic Party, has
suddenly been forced to regress to a
more hard-line stance in order to stay
in power.
Before, with little pressure felt from
V V
losing more than a songhdok
Bruce Springsteen didnt play
any of his songs from his
Nebraska album during his
Smith Center concerts. Maybe he
didn't have time to play them, or
maybe he just doesn't see a need
for them anymore.
I once had a Nebraska song
book. When I was a high school
student in Fairfax County, Va., I
lent it to someone. By now, it's
probably been used in places that
I never want to see.
Fairfax County, a wealthy
suburb of Washington, D.C., is a
paradox. Within its wealth, there
exists a large population of home
less people. It is very difficult to
find homes due to high rent, food
costs and the largely white-collar
job market.
The homeless people themselves
are paradoxical. The people in one
shelter located off LTsTRoute
l about 15 miles from Washington
and a block from Madame Eve
the palm reader ranged from
a 1 5-year-old black girl with a one-year-old
baby to a schizophrenic
Harvard graduate who frequently
raved about his popularity as a
Hollywood hit-man.
Every day at the shelter was a
lesson, especially to a 16-year-old
white middle-class high school
student. Every experience was
disturbing, unsettling in its expo
sure of the failures of the system
and society. To see that 15-year-old
mother's face light up when
showers were installed at the
American'
Ni
'orth Carolina is home to
seven Indian Nations: Lum
bee, Tuscarora, Eastern Che
rokee, Coharie, Haliwa-Saponi,
Meherrin and Waccamaw-Sioux.
Together, these peoples form the
largest Native American population
east of the Mississippi.
Few Carolina students, however,
are aware of the rich Native American
heritage of this state. Small numbers,
added to a lack of Indian Studies
courses and programs, make Native
Americans an almost "invisible
minority" at UNC. For many, the
word "indian" brings forth only foggy
junior high social studies class memo-
The '80s: rebels without a pause
Tf t's a tradition. Degenerating
I! morals, that is. The morals of
JJLsuccessive generations have been
continually worsening in the public
eye since the time the Romans
overthrew the Etruscan kings in 509
B.C. Obviously, the human race
either started out with extremely high
moral ideals, or morals have a half
life like that of a radioactive element.
"We must protect our society from
the vices of today!" It is the cry of
a people concerned for future gener
ations. But just who did Augustus
Caesar sleep with? They weren't little
boys never! And Anna and
Vronsky? Surely Tolstoy was mis
taken. The rumors about Catherine
are obviously mere rumors.
How many times have we heard
that life just ain't what it used to be?
Even in 22 A.D. Tiberius Caesar let
out the1 familiar cry when he said,
"And if I have to get back to the old
standards of simplicity, where do I
start?"
Today, the tradition continues.
Like many other lucky students, I was
fortunate enough to get a magazine
in my mailbox called "Student Life."
Unlike other students, I actually
opened it. In it I found more evidence
Dave Hall
Staff Writer
the opposition, the government felt
safe enough to introduce reforms to
assuage the openly belligerent blacks.
They proposed talks with the out
lawed African National Congress, the
black guerilla movement that is the
self-proclaimed leader of the black
resistance movement. Last year, they
released Gavni Mobaki, an esteemed
black dissident, and promised future
parole for Nelson Mandela, one of
the few remaining leaders still in
prison. In addition, the government
announced plans for a national
conference between the races that
would possibly write a new consti
tution presumably one that would
allow blacks active participation in
national affairs for the first time ever.
However, given the negative political
repercussions from any overtures
toward blacks, any future moves are,
as Welsh says, "out of the question."
Naturally, the 28 million South
African blacks are not pleased with
the recent change of events. The
censoring of the anti-apartheid
groups limits their ability to peace
fully state their discontent, leading
Kimberly Edens
University Editor
shelter was to be forced to reassess
my own values, and the most
simple and obvious things that I
took for granted.
Illusions were easily shattered in
the shelter. I learned that not all
homeless people are simply victims
of the system, that some are lazy,
shiftless or don't have the resour
ces to finance their habits. But I
discovered many people who
simply fell through the cracks in
the system people who got laid
off, or who couldn't pay their
medical bills, or who had just had
a whole lot of bad breaks. Those
people were the most disturbing,
because what had happened to
them could happen to anybody.
Three years later, the person
that stands out most in my mind
is a man named Dave, who could
play a twelve-string guitar like
nobody I had ever heard. He came
up to me one day and asked me
if I knew where he could buy
strings for his guitar. We started
talking, and he told me that he
had lost his job in his Florida
hometown, and had been turned
out by his family. He never
explained exactly why.
I brought in some sheet music
for him to use, because he had said
he was trying to get a job in a
Bndian culture suffers from fallacies, stereotypes
Jennifer Manning
Guest Writer
ries of Pocahontas and the Lost
Colony. Worse, it may conjure up
negative stereotypes either of a
slovenly, alcoholic man staggering
about the dusty streets of a Western
town, or of a bloodthirsty, marauding
band of braves.
As bad, or worse, than this seem
ingly permanent relegation to "bad
guy" status, is the homogeneous and
erroneous culture that is now iden
Barbara Linn
Staff Writer
of the continually saddening state of
our tomorrows.
Talking about stereotypes, the
director of residential life at Endicott
College wrote, "Many are the times
IVe discussed with my colleagues the
rising incidence of alcoholism, low
SAT scores, apathy, lack of volun
teerism and the frightening amorality
which runs increasingly rampant
among each new class of freshmen."
Tsk, tsk.
Generations seem to compete with
each other for the title of "worst ever."
It's as if we all want to be remembered
as children of that time when "love
was sacrificed to sex and ideals to
reality." To be the worst yet is a form
of status all its own.
Who makes these judgements that
we've been handed? Who steps back
from today and looks at time from
Adam and Eve to Jim and Tammy
and concludes that today's society
is one of sex, drugs and money? Is
it our parents? Is it the media? Who
many to consider violence as their
only alternative. Says Welsh: "These
acts are only serving to increase the
amount of fury and frustration
among blacks."
Increasingly, blacks are also turn
ing to the church and other religious
movements in the hope of fostering
peaceful change. Such a trend
towards the liberation ideology, so
prevalent in much of Central Amer
ica, is a logical result of the church's
traditional opposition to apartheid
and the stubborn intransigence of the
white oligarchy. Says Archbishop
Desmond Tutu, 1985 Nobel Peace
prize recipient and international
black activist: "The avenues for
change are slowly being closed up.
We (the churches) are among the few
institutions left that can openly
protest. We will actively seek to state
our case through non-violent mea
sures." Yet, many feel that the impact of
the church movement will be greatly
limited. Swilling says: "This situation
is very different than India in 1947
with Mahatma Gandhi and the
British government. We are dealing
with a government that does not
understand the subtleties of nonvio
lence." In fact, just last week, Tutu,
along with 20 other religious leaders,
local club playing his guitar, and
also because we had become
friends, which is strongly discour
aged by the social workers. Per
sonal relationships could lead to
trouble, because many of the
people were not trustworthy, the
volunteers were told.
Dave could play all of the songs
well, but his favorite was called
"Highway Patrolman" from
Nebraska. It was a simple, lonely
song, about a policeman named
Joe Roberts whose brother Fran
kie is a criminal. Joe is forced to
decide between arresting Frankie
and letting him escape to Canada.
He finally lets Frankie drive across
the border, singing "A man turns
his back on his family, well he just
ain't no good."
. I let Dave borrow my copy of
the Nebraska songbook one night
so he could memorize the songs.
He promised to return it on the
next night that I worked at the
shelter. Dave never came back.
I can't play my Nebraska songs
anymore, and Bruce Springsteen
has chosen not to, for whatever
reason. But somewhere out there,
Dave is playing them for himself.
Maybe it's because nobody else
will.
Kimberly Edens is a sophomore
political science and English major
from Fairfax County, Va.
tified with every American Indian
nation. There are hundreds of tribal
groups in the United States, each with
historically unique languages, cus
toms, cuisine and dwellings adapted
to varying geographic situations and
individual tastes. Instead, we see
today one uniform cartoon-like
culture imposed on every tribe. A
handful of large, well-known nations
Sioux, Cherokee, Comanche,
Mohawk are remembered by
having their names placed on Jeeps,
haircuts and military weaponry. The
smaller tribes, or those with unpro
nounceable names, fade into
obscurity.
is that awesome "they" making up this
judgmental voice?
Besides being a manufactured
judgment the result of people
growing more conservative with age
a generational trend is never
accurate. Not only does it take today
out of context, it ignores the fact that
individuals make up each generation.
Individuals can be idealistic or moral
without the help of a rubberstamp
from the older generation. I can still
eat peanut butter and onion rings at
3 a.m. and talk about truth. With
luck, 111 still be enjoying such a
bounteous banquet 20 years from
now not telling my children how
morally bankrupt their generation
has become.
But just what would happen to the
eighties our generation if we
were to realize it isn't the "worst
ever"? Oh no! Where would be our
claim to fame? This is our decade of
Iranscams, hypocritical evangelists
and sexual diseases certainly not
a romantic age of idealism.
Barbara Linn is a sophomore
international studies major from
Chalfont, Pa.
Africa
was arrested by the South African
police during a peaceful
demonstration.
Almost as appalling as legalized
segregation is the Reagan adminis
tration's hypocritical attitude toward
the Botha government. While out
wardly critical of the recent strand
of suppression, the administration
constantly refuses to heed the resist
ance leaders' call for stiff sanctions.
Instead, the United States pursues its
inherently flawed policy of "construc
tive engagement." In addition, the
administration is fearful of hurting
the black majority, a line of reason
that they apparently refused to follow
when formulating their policy with
Panama.
It has become glaringly obvious
that the Reagan administration has
little sway over South Africa. Given
the arrogant refusal of Botha to
improve the situation, the United
States would be better off disasso
ciating itself from South Africa's
white minority altogether. It does
little for the prestige of a supposedly
sophisticated nation to ally itself with
the likes of Botha.
Dave Hall is a sophomore history
major from Atlanta
Contf usion in Dole cammp paved
road for Bosh's political success
By now, Robert Dole must be
gazing out the window, silently
rolling over the past year's
events and asking himself where he
went wrong. He's a tragic hero of
sorts. The GOP throne was his after
Iowa, but along came Big Bad George
to punt him right back off again
the same Big Bad George who months
earlier seemed to lack enough wind
to turn a pinwheel. ,
George Bush is no longer the
"wimp." New Hampshire and Super
Tuesday were good to him, but who
was underneath, who was the guy
carrying Bush on his shoulders? It was
Bob Dole.
True, Ronald Reagan excuse
me, George Bush has doneisome
work on his own. He got' Ks well
organized campaign off the ground
early, he amassed a huge war chest,
which is still a vote-getter, and he
took Dan Rather over his knee. But
that's it. That's where George Bush
stops, and Robert Dole jumps in.
"I wasted time, and now time doth
waste me," Shakespeare's Richard II
said. Dole's slogan might read, "I
wasted money, and now I'm broke."
He hobnobbed with Strom Thur
mond in South Carolina, a state he
knew he had no chance of winning.
Also, Super Tuesday is a big deal,
real big, but Dole opted to spend
$200,000 in campaign ads for the
upcoming California primary
instead. In essence, Bob Dole went
on a binge.
Unfortunately, I see little being
done today to reverse this trend.
Tribes dependent on tourist revenue
bow to media misconceptions and
give the visitors what they want to
see. One can go to Cherokee, N.C.,
any day of the year and have a picture
taken with the "postcard chiefs"
men in sioux war bonnets, posing
before fake tipis and totem poles.
Is this commercialization of Native
American culture the worst that can
happen? Perhaps an incorrect image,
one that is relevant to selected tribes,
is better than no image at all.
This homogeneity of images may
Fordham will be a tough
As the search for a new
chancellor heats up, we
must not forget the legacy
we are leaving behind.
Chancellor Christopher Ford
ham will be revered for years to
come at UNC and in the surround
ing community. He is a man of
strong will who displays a deep
commitment to the University that
he served well. Fordham has
presided over UNC with integrity
and courage, while denying no one
the rights and freedoms that they
deserve.
Fordham was born in Greens
boro on Nov. 28, 1926. He served
as a medical officer in the U.S.
Air Force from 1955-1957, then
entered private practice in Greens
boro for two years. Fordham
joined the medical school's faculty
at UNC in 1958 and served here
for 1 1 years.
After a two-year term as dean
of the Medical College of Georgia,
Fordham returned to UNC in 197 1
to become dean of the School Of
Medicine. At the request of then
President Jimmy Carter, Ford
ham became the acting assistant
Dan Morrison
Guest Writer
November is a nice month, but it's
not a great time to pick a national
campaign chairman for an upcoming
election. That's when Bill Brock
joined the Dole regiment. Canning a
couple unworthy staff members is
okay too, but not on live TV. And
playing Mr. Toughguy one minute,
and whinning to Tom Brokaw that
Bush isn't playing by the rules is, well,
confusing.
Some say entropy breeds unity, but '
I doubt Bob Dole has that in his little
book of sayings. His campaign was
chaotic from the start. He thought
he could call the shots, ignore his
staffs suggestions, and still keep them
on the payroll. That's not the way
it works. Delegation of power means
just that giving others a shake at
handling things.
A Newsweek reporter tells the story
of two Dole staffers broadcasting
entirely different messages after the
senator's humiliating defeat in Super
Tuesday. Campaign aide Mari
Maseng said she had no doubt that
Dole would continue his campaign,
while in the room next door, Dole
adviser Kim Wells told a strategist
that the campaign was closing shop.
Crossed signals often cause ships to
make the problems of the modern
Native American seem more uniform
and easier to solve. The fact is, each
tribe has its own set of challenges to
be met in its own way. Economic
differences, lifestyle differences, the
amount to which a nation has
adapted to "white man's ways" all
of these, added to thousands of years
of inter-tribal wars and rivalries,
create a myriad of views and voices.
This is not to say that the indi
genous peoples of the United States
cannot unite to work for common
goals. Poverty, illiteracy, poor health
care, unemployment and alcoholism
Mark Gunter
Guest Writer
secretary for health and the acting
surgeon general of the United
States for two months in 1977.
As one can see, Fordham has
an unquestionable sense of loyalty
to UNC. During his years as
chancellor, Carolina has been
praised nationwide and has been
recognized as a leader in educa
tion. Due in part to Fordham's
leadership, Carolina was chosen as
one of the "public Ivys."
As UNC's sixth chancellor,
Fordham has been dedicated to
renewing the linkage between
UNC and the state's public
schools. He has established more
than 20 programs to improve
North Carolina's public school
system. Postgraduate teacher
training programs have been
increased during his tenure, even
when other schools were cutting
back their programs.
Fordham has had an incredible
knack for recruiting outstanding
collide. This one just sank.
With the nomination almost
wrapped up, George Bush has about
five months of perfunctory campaign
scheduling to trudge through. He has
cut his negative ads about Dole; his
organization isn't slackening, and he's
still talking about "popular themes"
that will carry him to the White
House. Themes like, well, you know,
just themes.
Five months is a long time to coast
on one's victories, but George Bush
might be able to do it. Unless, of
course, two hyphenated words don't
uauui mm. iiaii-uuiiiia. ruuuci
national security adviser Robert
McFarlane pleaded guilty to with jj
holding information abbutthe fiasco
three weeks ago. Poindexter, Secord,
and insider Albert Hakim were
indicted last Monday. No one wants
to nark, but Bush better keep his
fingers crossed.
So George Bush is going to be the
next President of the United States;
well, maybe. By late summer, he's
going to have to step out of his boss
shadow. By then, he might do well .
to remember the words of his unof- ,
ficial advance man, Bob Dole. "I can
beat George Bush, but I can't beat
Ronald Reagan."
Dan Morrison is a junior American
Studies major from Detroit.
are ills all nations must combat. Every
i tribe must work for the preservation
' of its art, its land, its history and its
dignity. The recognition of Native
Americans as an important, accomp
lished and justifiably proud people
must be accompanied by a recogni
tion of the diversity of their accomp
lishments. There are a thousand
reasons for our pride.
Jennifer Manning is a junior
international studies and political
science major from Hazelwood.
act to follow
faculty, while bridging the gap
between students, faculty and
alumni. During his tenure, the last
five senior classes have set national
records for class gift fund-raising.
He is an effective, articulate
spokesman for the University and
will continue to set examples that
many will try to follow. His
activities, honors and publications
are numerous, and the list con
tinues to grow. Fordham has
bounced back from times of ill
health, and even during times of
controversy, he has always calmed
the waters with his fair decisions.
The list of qualified candidates
for the chancellor's predecessor is
being narrowed quickly. However,
while the search continues for a
new chancellor, let us look back
. over Chancellor Fordham's tenure
at UNC-CH and try to find a
person that can follow in the
footsteps of a truly successful
University leader.
Mark Gunter is a senior polit
ical science major from Fuquay-Varina.