Newspapers / University of North Carolina … / Oct. 22, 1979, edition 1 / Page 2
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GENE RAINEY LEAVES OFFICE By Mike Ochsenreiter Student Editor Local media announced a few weeks back that Dr. Gene Rainey, a political science professor here at UNC-A, would not week re-election to the Asheville City Council. Dr. Rainey's voluntary political retire ment, while greeted with disappoint ment in some quarters and elation in others, was a surprise to virtually everyone. Politically speaking. Dr. Rainey is a rara avis. His uniqueness results from his penchant, nay dedication, to the practice of what I call "conviction politics." Those who know him, whether in agreement with him on issues of the day or not, recognize his commitment to conscience; indeed, it would not be hyperbolic to state that his conscience is his ultimate consti tuent. Recently, I interviewed Dr. Rainey for this column. Here is part of what he said. Question: What were some of your accomplishments during your four years on council? Answer: I should preface my remarks by saying that when you work as a member of a seven member coun cil it is the height of egotism to say I did this, or I did that. Even if you bring up an original idea, it's difficult, once it has gone through all that work, to say this is mine. One area that I consider to be a major accomplishment is the opening of the Tuesday meeting to the press. When I came on board I was convinced that the Tuesday meeting, which was closed, was illegal under the Sunshine Act. The Attorney General of North Carolina agreed with my interpretation, but the city attorney and a majority of council disagreed. I talked with some of the reporters and finally one of them, a Citizen- Times reporter, got up enough nerve to come barging in. With the letter there from the Attorney General show ing that the closed meeting was not defensible under the Open Meetings law, the council obviously could not throw out the issue, or the reporter. I look back with a great deal of fondness on that. The second one is to bring Asheville to the point that it would admit that it had a corruption problem in its government. I have a lot of scars over that. I mean, during the early goings of that issue I took an awful beating from almost everyone. Those two, I guess, are single- handed and, in a sense, the only reason they are single-handed is that I was stupid enough to think I could stumble into them without any pro blems. Question: How could an academi cian like yourself have been so naive? Answer: Politics is always surprising. And then, too, what you read about in your textbooks is different from the real world. From my experience, I have a more balanced idea of what government is about, and how it works. Question: There are some who think politics and scholarship do not mix. Cicero, for one, said: "Virtue, hones ty, uprightness are the qualities that are required in a candidate, not fluen cy of language, nor knowledge of arts and sciences." What are your thoughts? Answer: That's true, but Cicero shouldn't have put it either-or. Most politicians are a mixture of the two. This is essentially what I think the elec torate looks for now, and Solzhenit zyn's Harvard address and Carter's last sermon on T.V. are getting at this. The American people are fed up with what seems to be feeding at the trough by elected leaders, and are more con cerned with a higher level in politics, and less of the double-talk that they have been getting. The majority of citizens would surely agree with Dr. Rainey's last statement. A new breed of politician, more honest and trustworthy, would cer tainly be a welcome change. Stay tun ed to The Paper for a forthcoming in terview with Dr. Walt Boland of the Sociology Department - another member of the University community headed for a leadership position in city government. RESUME WORKSHOP Dr. Ann Weber of the Psychology Department will speak during a two- day workshop on resume writing on Wednesday, Oct. 24, and Friday, Oct. 26 in Room 235 of Zageir Social Sciences Building. The time is 2-3:30 p.m. for both ses sions. The workshop is sponsored by the Office of Testing, Counseling and Ad vising. 2 BLOODMOBILE HERE The American Red Cross Blood- mobile will be on the campus, Oct. 29, from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. Appointments can be arranged in the cafeteria Tuesday through Friday, Oct. 23-26. Anyone who comes without an appointment may have to wait. Donating a pint of blood is a safe, painless, quick and simple procedure. Sharyn McDonald, director of stu dent activities, said, "It will take only 45 minutes of your time to contribute to the better health of your community by giving blood and saving lives." The main requirements are that donors be in good health, be at least 17 years old and weigh at least 110 pounds. Other criteria may be check ed with Ms. McDonald or any representative of the Inter- Organizational Council. The IOC, which is sponsoring the Bloodmobile visit, is offering $25 to the organization which gets the largest number of peo-, pie to give blood in its name. BE ADVENTUROUS The Health Adventure, in the MAHEC Building that spans Biltmore Avenue between St. Joseph's and Memorial Mission Hospitals, is holding an open house for college students on Wednesday, October 31, from 2-3:30 p.m. The Health Adventure is a facility designed to make health education in teresting and entertaining to children and adults. Kathy Spencer, instructor coor dinator for The Health Adventure, said college students seeking research or service projects could find it worth their trouble to become volunteers at the facility. Volunteers are especially needed for instructing classes, collecting data and preparing materials. Hours can be ar ranged to fit the volunteer's conve nience. Call Kitti Kelly at 253-6601 for more information. THE HEALTH ADVENTURE
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