1 6The Tar Heel Thursday May 19, 1988
OPBOiOO
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BOG's business is not SSC
In its meeting last Friday, the
UNC Board of Governors
unanimously approved a resolu
tion supporting North Carolina's
efforts to bring the Superconduct
ing Super Collider to the state.
That action leads to one simple
question: Why?
In the first place, the BOG
should stick to issues directly
affecting the university system.
The resolution says the super
collider, a research project in
which protons are smashed into
smaller particles in a 53-mile
underground tunnel to study the
creation of matter, would make
the state "the world center for
research in physics." But while the
jobs and research it could bring
to the state are important and
would have some effect on the
education students receive, those
results are indirect.
More importantly, the BOG.
completely and blatantly over
looked the vast number of con
cerns voiced by residents who live
near the proposed sites of the
project, except to say that it
"would pose no significant
hazards to the health and safety
of the citizens of the state."
Residents of Durham, Person
and Granville counties have
spoken against the proposed sites
near their homes in town meetings
Rape in the sixth grade
In a recent Rhode Island survey
of 1,700 sixth- to ninth-graders,
65 percent of the boys and 57
percent of the girls said it is
acceptable for a man to force a
woman to have sex if they have
been dating for more than six
months. Eighty-seven percent of
the boys and 79 percent of the
girls said rape is OK if the man
and woman are married.
And almost one-fourth of the
boys and one-sixth of the girls said
it was acceptable for a man to
force a woman to have sex if he
has spent a lot of money on her.
"A lot," to these students, was less
than SI 5.
If those numbers seem fright
ening, good. They should frighten
anyone who has seen the massive
efforts that have been made in
recent years to educate young
students about violence against
women and all kinds of sexual
abuse. The students in this survey,
as a matter of fact, were attending
the Rhode Island Rape Crisis
Center's assault awareness pro
gram in school.
Why haven't these messages
gotten through to the students?
While a part of the problem may
be that they don't fully understand
the emotional impact of sex, there
seems to be more of a societal
reason for the students' responses.
Children are exposed daily to
with the support of some county
commissioners. Their concerns
include the effect of the project
on water quality, because the sites
are near major watersheds, and
the amounts of toxic and radioac
tive waste produced in the tunnel.
But when a BOG member
noted that opposition, board
member Irwin Belk replied, "Well,
you can't make a blind man see,
can you?"
That kind of statement and lack
of concern for other points of view
could make one wonder who the
blind man is that Belk spoke of.
Certainly the residents' opposi
tion to the project should be only
one of many factors in deciding
where the project will ultimately
go, but it is definitely more
important than Belk suggests.
UNC-system officials have the
right to an interest in the final
location of the super collider, as
the proposed locations would be
close to both UNC and N.C. State
University and would have an
effect on their research programs.
But they should let North Caro
lina's politicians play the politics
necessary to win the project, and
keep their minds on the pressing
problems within the system. There
is more than enough to keep them
busy without taking the time to
pass this sort of resolution.
sex in connection with violence on
TV and in movies. And it is that
visual exposure, more than any
other factor, that is responsible
for the message these students
have received and believed.
While shows with explicit sex
and violence used to be reserved
for late-night programming, they
are now shown from early after
noon on. With soap operas and
the extensive use of prime-time
shows as afternoon reruns, stu
dents can receive . fairly explicit
messages from the minute thej
return from school.
It's hard for college-age stu
dents to identify with the sex
education these students get;
many didn't know what rape
really was in sixth grade. But since
children are now forced to grow
up fast when they're taught about
sexual abuse, it seems they should
know what rape really means and
understand the horrifying prob
lems it creates.
So it's unfortunate and fright
ening that we must wait for college
and college demonstrations to
alert students to the implications
of this violence. The messages that
should be getting through long
before college continue to be
overshadowed by the impact of
a few producers after a quick
buck.
Republican
To the editor:
I am a N.C. college-age Republi
can. I support many of the domestic
programs initiated by Republican
leaders, and I also back the re-election
campaign of Gov. Jim Martin.
However, I have recently become
concerned over some of the tactics
employed by Republicans in address
ing communism and communist
expansion.
Often these Republicans present
world issues as a battle between good
(Ronald Reagan and the American
conservatives) versus evil (Mikhail
Gorbachev, Danial Ortega and all the
other cruel communists). My fear is
that the Republicans are saying our
relationship with communists will be
a never-ending struggle, and armed
Parking
no picnic
To the editor:
The parking restraints at this
University have gotten completely
out of hand. For a university that
claims to be dedicated to service and
development of the students, these
parking restraints only take away
from that development.
Recently, the ticketing period was
extended from 7 p.m. to 9 p.m. This
makes libraries and evening classes
inaccessible to many off-campus
students because they have nowhere
to park.
Furthermore, the shift in the Cobb
parking lot from student to faculty
parking forces residents of surround
ing dorms to wind up with permits
across campus. This pushes the on
campus student into the off-campus
students' lots, reducing the amount
of lots available to students.
Still another problem lies in the
construction of the new Craige
parking lot designed for students. The
price of parking permits will have to
be raised in order to cover construc
tion costs. This pushes parking
permits into the hands of only the
rich students who can afford to pay
the extremely high prices of the
permits.
The only way to get the University
to negotiate is to gather enough
people together into a force. By
massive letter-writing and phone calls
to University officials, students may
be able to induce a change.
MARTY WELCH
Junior
Public Relations Speech
Equal rights
for Northerners
To the editor:
I would like to express my concern
about a problem I feel many "Nor
therners'' can relate to. That problem
is Southern police who discriminate
against Northerners attending South
ern universities. This is a problem that
north-of-the-Mason-Dixon-line stu
dents such as myself are suffering.
Two weeks ago, I got pulled over
Reader's Forum
rhetoric polarizes party
conflict is the only way to deal with
communism.
For example, the N.C. Federation
of College Republicans supports the
"Reagan Doctrine" and its belief that
"the United States is the only nation
capable of preventing the Soviet
Union from conquering any more
countries, killing any more innocent
people and enslaving any more people
behind iron curtains."
According to these Republicans,
communists are basically out to
conquer, to kill and to enslave
innocent people. By this vicious
name-calling, any atmosphere for
communication or healthy dialogue
between the United States and the
Soviet Union is destroyed.
I'm glad we have the freedom in
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for going 61 mph in a 55-mph zone.
I would understand the ticket if it
came without the anti-Northern
comments the trooper insisted on
giving while looking at my Pennsyl
vania driver's license.
After he drilled me on what I was
doing down here and found I was
a student at UNC, he mumbled that
being here was "the only thing ya
got going' for ya" I don't plan on
arguing the ticket, but I shouldn't
have to give an explanation for why
I'm in a part of my own country!
Another brief example came when
my moped was stolen over the
summer. A Chapel Hill officer
refused to come in my house to see
our country to allow people to
express their concerns about our
globe. I also find it extremely impor
tant that the United States monitor
the Soviets and that we not allow
them to take over the world militarily.
But much of the literature and
rhetoric corning from the Republican
Party seems intent on polarizing our
world and drawing up battle lines
where we're given no option but a
confrontation with the Soviets. I hope
other young Republicans realize the
militant stands influential Republi
cans in our state take when addressing
communism.
DONALD JONAS
Junior
Political Science
where it had been when it was stolen,
reasoning that it was registered in
Pennsylvania, not North Carolina. I
just hope if it ever becomes something
more severe than a traffic ticket or
theft I will be provided with equal
treatment as those born in Dixie.
CHADWICK WATSON
Junior
Speech Communications
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Interested? Call the Tar Heel at
962-0245 and ask for Sharon or Nicki,
or stop by the office.