10The Daily Tar Heel Monday, November 21,
Qfl Satlg
96th year of editorial freedom
KAREN BELL, News Editor
MATT BlVENS, Associate Editor
KlMBERLY EDENS, University Editor
JON K. RUST, Managing Editor
Will Lingo, aty Editor
Kelly Rhodes, Am Editor
CATHY McHUGH, Omnibus Editor
SHELLEY ERBLAND, Design Editor
Quietly changing the world
The five days of celebrating human
rights at UNC ended on an approp
riate note early Friday morning in the
Pit, when a small group of students
gathered up their blankets and candles
and a basket of more than 700 letters
written on behalf of prisoners of
conscience around the world. No
photographers or reporters hovered
around the group, but after sitting in
the Pit all night, the students probably
wouldn't have wanted their pictures
taken, anyway.
They marcned to the post office and
mailed the letters to countries such as
Syria and Chile. They hadn't collected
enough money to mail them all (they
came out about $75 short), but that
didnt matter. Their 24-hour vigil was
over, and their request for letters had
been more successful than they
expected.
The students were members of the
Chapel Hill chapter of Amnesty
International, an independent world
wide movement dedicated to working
for the release of political prisoners.
The letters available for passers-by to
sign and address asked for information
about the cases of prisoners of con
science people who have been
arrested, detained, tortured and pos
sibly even executed because their
political views did not correspond with
those of their government.
Amnesty International's office in
Look past Gardner to issues
The people have spoken, but si,
l Civ
Senate Democrats don't seem to have
beeji listening.
On' Friday, Democratic senators
met behind closed doors as has
become their custom when discussing
sensitive political issues to map out
strategy with regard to Republican Lt.
Gov.-elect Jim Gardner. The senators
announced the appointment of a four
member team to explore the possibility
of stripping Gardner of his powers
after he takes office.
The lieutenant governor, according
to Senate rules, may appoint commit
tees and committee chairmen and
assign bills. But now that a Republican
has been elected to the office for the
first time since 1896, Democrats
suddenly seem to think it's time for
the rules to be changed. "IVe always
favored that the Senate organize itself
and appoint its own committees and
assign bills," said Sen. Henson Barnes,
D-Wayne. Are citizens supposed to
believe that the timing is just a
coincidence?
Granted, Gardner's margin of vic
tory was slim and he certainly carries
no mandate with him to Raleigh.
Many have expressed distaste for his
campaign tactics, and his support of
Campus Watch, a group that advo
cates legislative interference in Univer
sity affairs, is particularly worrisome
for students. Nevertheless, the Senate
Democrats' proposed action would set
a dangerous precedent for N.C.
politics.
This blatantly partisan behavior on
In a telephone interview. In a telephone
interview. In a telephone interview. It's a
phrase state and national reporters repeat
in their sleep. Most of the time, we think
it's unnecessary to say it except we've
realized that if we don't, readers assume
our interviews with State Department
officials, Montana fire fighters and health
workers in Minnesota came straight off the
Associated Press wire.
State and national reporters spend most
of their time making phone calls in the
aptly-named phone room. They spend three
to four hours of the days they work calling
whatever experts they can find for their
stories. Sometimes results in direct inter
views with political candidates, foreign
dignitaries or business executives; usually,
though, we can only talk to press secretaries.
But never, unless they say so in the story,
do reporters use material from AP.
That's not to say we don't get story ideas
from the wire. We often do. Most of the
stories you read come not from our
reporters being at the event in person
DTH stories tend to come out a day late.
But we try to take a fresh angle on the
stories, reporting not only what happened
Monday but what the reaction was
1988
afar Mn
Jean Lutes, Editor
KAARIN TlSUE, News Editor
LAURA PEARLMAN, Associate Editor
KRISTEN GARDNER, University Editor
SHAKOUKEBSCHVLL, State and National Editor
MIKE BERARDINO, Sports Editor
LEIGH ANN McDONALD, Feature s Editor
DAVID MINTON, Photography Editor
, Kelly Thompson, Design Editor
London assigned the Chapel Hill
chapter one specific prisoner to work
to release. His name is Nabil Ibrahim,
a member of the Party for Communist
Action. He was arrested in 1984 in
Damascus, and he has never been
charged, tried or sentenced. Although
the group is concerned about many
other human rights violations,
members are focusing their efforts on
this one case. The address to write to
ask for attention to Nabil Ibrahim's
imprisonment is: His Excellency Hafez
al Assad, Office of the President,
Muhajirin, Presidential Palace, Abu
Rummaneh, Al-Rashid Street,
Damascus, Syrian Arab Republic.
The act was a fitting conclusion to
Human Rights Week because it
reflected the goal of action through
education. Who could read about the
imprisonment and torture of innocent
men, women and children and not
want to bother trying to make a
difference?
Writing a letter is a simple act of
activism. It's easier than painting signs,
marching to South Building, staging
a demonstration or distributing pam
phlets. It also attracts much less
immediate attention. But protest
doesn't have to be flashy to be effective
just ask the Amnesty International
members who walked to the post office
on Friday morning. Jean Lutes
behalf of the Democratic senators
demonstrates a complete disregard for
the democratic process and is a direct
insult to the voters of North Carolina.
Gardner, regardless of one's personal
opinion, was elected by the people to
the office of lieutenant governor and
is thus entitled to the powers and
responsibilities that the position
entails. Since when does a select group
of party elite have the authority to
redefine a position after voters have
chosen someone to fifi that position?
Negotiation will take place on
Wednesday between Gardner and the
four-man Democratic team. Gardner
realizes that progress will be difficult
in the heavily Democratic Senate,
particularly if he has no power. On
the other hand, senators fear a political
backlash from voters in the 1990
elections if a move to significantly
reduce the lieutenant governor's
authority is made.
To his credit, Gardner has adopted
a conciliatory attitude toward the hard
stand of the Democrats. He has
proposed a plan that would give
Republicans the chairmanships of one
third of the 38 standing committees
there presently are no Republican
chairmen and would share the
power of assigning bills with the
Democratic president pro tern.
Whatever the outcome of the meet
ing on Wednesday, it is evident that
Gardner will be stripped of at least
some power and so will the voice
of the people. Louis Bissette
the last word
Tuesday.
We also try to cover mostly what's
interesting to college students interna
tional issues that we can analyze, political
issues that will affect students' futures and
news of what's happening at other colleges.
On political issues especially, we try to cover
both sides equally and fairly. State and
national reporters are not tied overwhelm
ingly to one ideology, and we work hard
to fight our biases.
The most fun for college political
reporters, of course, comes when they can
go to the actual events, rather than cover
them over the phone. Our adrenaline starts
flowing when candidates come to UNC to
speak at forums, or when election night rolls
around and the candidates are ripe for
interviewing at their party headquarters.
Most of the time, however, S&N repor
ters live in the phone room. While we wait
impatiently for sources to return our calls, .
we read and add to the legendary graffiti
that fills the room's walls, and contemplate
having our mail forwarded there. It's a bore
sometimes, but when the calls finally come
through, we hope we Ve given readers a fresh
angle from solid sources our own
sources. Sharon Kebschull
Kennedy challenged America
TTt is likely that our generation can only
recall John F. Kennedy in the black
and white film footage depicting his
murder, and see in slow motion Kennedy
lurch forward, then jerk back, in silence.
Tomorrow, Nov. 22, will mark the 25th
year following his assassination.
Without belittling the courage with
which men have died, we should not forget
those acts of courage with which men have
lived.
The martyrdom Kennedy met on the
streets of Dallas 25 years ago immortalized
him. In the American mind, with its
tendency to romanticize the tragic in
human events, his memory has evolved to
create a powerful image in politics.
Kennedy has become the standard to which
the American people compare their public
officials, and to whom public officials in
pursuit of acceptance compare themselves
today. Yet it seems that Kennedy would
have us instead look not at his death, but
at his dreams.
In 1960, when America was still strong,
confident and dominant, a leader who
represented those same qualities was
elected president. Yet Kennedy brought
more to the nation he brought purpose.
Today, the challenge of political courage
looms larger than ever before. For our
everyday life is becoming so saturated with
the tremendous power of mass commun
ications that any unpopular or unorthodox
course causes a storm of protest.
The mists of time have obscured much
of Kennedy the president and Kennedy the
man. Kennedy came from a decidedly non
mainstream American background. He
came from a rich family and went to an
Ivy League school; it is even sometimes
said he would not have won in 1960
without carrying Mayor Richard Daley's
graveyard vote in Chicago.
But he didn't claim to come from
Republicans
not all vandals
To the editor.
I must have misread Dave
Downing's letter to the editor
("Wall graffiti to be expected,"
Nov. 14). In the first sentence,
he condemns some pro-Bush
people for painting graffiti on
the campus. Yet, the rest of the
letter accuses and insults an
entire political party and all the
individual members of that
party! ,
I, too, was embarrassed by
this vandalism, but I also resent
the very insulting and arrogant
accusation that vandalism
"makes sense to a Republican
mind" and that as such ties in
with the "proven Republican
tactics of libel and slander." As
much as Dukakis supporters
have the right to feel disap
pointed, they do not have the
right to insult people who, after
careful study of the facts and
honest deliberation, made a
decision to support the other
candidate. The fact that you
dont like a party or a candidate
doesnt make it an evil party
or candidate.
Mr. Downing says he is
proud to be a Democrat, and
he should be. It has many
outstanding, patriotic candi
dates and supporters. But I am
just as proud to be a Repub
lican. The Republican party
also has many outstanding,
patriotic candidates and sup
porters. This campaign wasn't
a war between good and evil.
Both sides generally agreed on
the problems; they simply
differed on the solutions. Both
parties felt their candidates to
be better for America. Those
of us who sincerely felt Mr.
Bush to be the better candidate
Rugby tours
"I'm delighted that, having consulted
widely, the chancellor saw fit to offer me
the position. " Newly-appointed Provost
Dennis O'Connor on his enthusiasm for
his position.
flflfl
"When you open a building in the
evening, you are taking a big risk with
security. " Donald Boulton, vice chan
cellor and dean of student affairs, on the
possibility of opening an all-night study
area on campus.
O B B
"There is a need for a new entity whose
sole purpose is to plan and provide services
which will link the whole region."
Patrick Simmons, the assistant director of
the state Public Transportation Advisory
Committee, on the need for a transpor
tation link between Orange, Durham and
Wake counties.
ODD
"We wouldn't recruit anybody who
wasn't qualified. Quality comes first, then
I might look at gender and color and things
like that." Harry Gooder, chairman of
the Faculty Council, on recruiting women
for graduate school.
BOB
Stuart Hathaway
I Spy
mainstream America, and what he repres
ented was not the mainstream voter in 1960
he represented that which America
knew it should be. In a time . when
governors barred the doorway to civil
rights, Kennedy went on national television
the day after two blacks registered to attend
the University of Alabama to say that
"every American ought to have the right
to be treated as he would wish to be
treated." He was a president who admitted
mistakes, such as the Bay of Pigs, instead
of trying to cover them up. Kennedy was
not a slave to public opinion, but rather
a voice of the American conscience.
Let the word go forth from this time
and place, to friend and foe alike, that the
torch has been passed to a new generation
of Americans.
Kennedy endures because he had the
ability to inspire the American people. He
did not make promises to America, he
challenged her. The Kennedy vision,
indicative of his presidency, was ambitious;
he saw greater good in the long term, not
the short. He fused his rhetoric with almost
timeless goals: a New Frontier, the
eradication of poverty, the equality of all
citizens. It is precisely because of the
challenge of his words and the nobility of
his vision that we remember him so well
today, and why we appear to be so
forgiving of his shortcomings.
Kennedy saw the growing power in the
world and tried to harness it for those who
could not do so for themselves. This
philosophy led him to successes and
failures. It allowed the Bay of Pigs, planned
under the Eisenhower administration, to
occur; It also allowed him to create the
Peace Corps, a program of American
volunteers using their knowledge and
Readers9 Foram
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for this nation and the world
should not be insulted and
accused of being evil or unjust
or uncaring or supportive of
vandalism.
To insult honest people who
had nothing to do with the
graffiti smacks of intolerance.
EVERETT LANGFORD
Graduate
School of Public Health
Ads rising
from the asnes
Editor's note: Chris
Kridler is the editor of The
Phoenix; Timothy Elliott is the
associate editor.
To the editor:
We'd like to clarify a com
ment attributed to one of our
assistant editors in the Nov. 14
article about campus publica
tions ("Student press covers
variety of issues'. The Pho
enix's budget does indeed
depend heavily on advertising
revenue and our own fund
raising efforts, not just student
government funds.
This year, we are building an
advertising base from scratch.
The Phoenix staff is composed
solely of students students
write and edit the copy, sell the
ads, lay out the paper and
deliver the issues. We don't
have any non-student, paid
professionals on staff.
While we are working to
increase our revenue, we are
also working to be an open
forum for the University
community.
CHRIS KRIDLER
Senior
Journalism English
TIMOTHY ELLIOTT
Senior
Journalism
recruiting and
Week in Quotes
"I've put one poster up in the same place
four different times. " Joel Sipress, a
member of the Carolina Committee on
Central America, on posters that were torn
down for a speech given by former CIA
agent Philip Agee.
BBS
" knocks out a hell of a lot of student
support if you only stand on one side of
an issue." Thomas Elliott, Student
Congress representative from District 7, on
the congress' decision to allocate $200 to
help fund Philip Agee's speech.
BBS
"The human rights movement that flows
forth from this country flows forth not
from self-righteousness but because we
want to save our brothers and sisters from
the kind of violence we have experienced. "
Andrew Young, mayor of Atlanta,
during the keynote speech for Human
Rights Week.
HDD
"The tour should really serve as an
example to everyone. It just shows what
to do better
ability to help less fortunate nations help - J
themselves. He recognized what is still true
today, that "the basic problems of the-.
world today are not susceptible to a
military solution." :f
Kennedy called upon. us to do better,"
to try harder and to care more. He asked
not "Are you better off than you were four;
years ago?" Kennedy challenged us to ask
"not what our country can do for you, r
but what you can do for your country."
In your hands, my fellow citizens, more .
than in mine, will rest the final success orl
failure of our course.
Kennedy did more than inspire and
challenge those who heard his words
his words empowered. Kennedy spoke to
each American, regardless of race, creed,
gender or economic status and told them
they mattered. Kennedy told us that we
could make a difference and that each'
of us, if we were able, had the obligation
to respond. He had the ability to say that
which few politicians today will say or act
upon: "To whom much is given, much is
expected."
r 4
Kennedy's assassination 25 years ago.,,
was a blow to America's confidence; it...
showed us all just how fragile and temporal
we are. We are still looking to find another . .
King Arthur and re-establish Camelot. But -,
while John Kennedy was a great man, he..;-'
was no king. America was a great nation, -
but she was no Camelot. We must let go j
of the past, yet remember it for what it-,'
was. :
What we will remember of Kennedy; '
particularly our generation, is often only''
what happened a quarter of a century ago ''
tomorrow. Kennedy would have it other
wise. We should heed Kennedy's words and
keep his vision, and chart our course for
the future of our nation and our world.
-
I
Stuart Hathaway is a junior history and
t!i 1 r
poiuicai science major jrom L.nariotte.
r . A I r 7 4
sfSKA oi viu inc.
Tho rTii TV. y XI 7
welcomes reader comments'
and criticisms. When writing;
letters to the editor, pleased
follow these guidelines:
a All letters must be signed
by the author(s), with a limit
of two signatures per letter.
D Student- shnulsl inrh irlo
name, year in school, major,
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town. Other members of the
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a All letters must be typed
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a Place letters in the box
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Student Union.
human rights
a bunch of guys can do on their own when
it's what they want." Jeremy Kelly,
president of the UNC Rugby Club, on his
organization's nine-day Thanksgiving tour
of England. The club sold more than 3,000
T-shirts and accepted a $400 donation from
the University to fund the tour.
B B B
- 4 .
" TTiPV riPPsl tn hn iVio vnm9 nrcrnw
and fire to win as thpv had Inst vpnr. "
Frank Comfort, UNC swim team coach;"
on ins Lcam s winning ainnine.
B B B
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"IW been denied a fair hearing because''
oj me courts ueniai oj my conscience,
defense. That's a major aspect of my
uejerise, uui iricic urc iriuriy, tnuriy umers.-
campus activist uaie McKinlev on his
i: i f .i
oiuuciii iuuii. mcjviiucy waiKcu out 01 -his
first trial a month ago.
ODD
"Just say 'no'." Advice from ex-CIA'
agent Philip Agee on what to say when!
Compiled by associate editor Laura
Pearlman.
1
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