Newspapers / North Carolina Wesleyan University … / Nov. 5, 1973, edition 1 / Page 2
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PAGE 2 THE DECREE MONDAY, NOVEMBER 5, 1973 Late Is Better Than Never It looks like Tom Hardison was right. The game machines are no better off in the end room than they were in the former pool hall. A quick glance in the new game room shows that one pool table has been removed because the mechanism was damaged during a theft. It is the second time this year that the pool table had been ripped off. The pin ball machine is now broken and the money has been stolen. The fooseball table is damaged but, no theft has occurred . . . yet. At the rate things are going Wesleyan students will be very lucky to have any type of amusement games on campus by Christmas break. And it is the entire student population that wiU suffer because of a few students who are crimiilals and should not be enrolled at Wesleyan. And someone is bound to know who the culprits are. Big Deal? Yes, because the money that is raised from the revenue supports the senate and its special projects. With the death of the game room comes the death of many special services and projects. All because of a few criminals. And someone is bound to know who the culprits are. A few things are obvious from these acts: security is not doing its job, student revenue is being lost, and the game machines should be moved into the snackbar area. It is all very simple. We must attain permission to move the machinery into the snackbar. Also, we must find the thieves who are responsible for the damage. There might be a time when something not quite as impersonal as student money is stolen. Next it may be a student wallet. . . perhaps only a favorite shirt of pair of jeans . . . books. It will grow and everybody will lose, including the thief, who one day will be caught. For now all we can hope for is the removal of all machines to the snack bar, better security and (this is a lot to hope for) guilty consciences. Somebody knows who is robbing the entire student population and somebody should turn in the people responsible. It’s hard to be a member of a generation who detests war, discrimination, political wrongs and at the same time can condone what is happening in the gameroom. We aU need to wake up and get mad. Somebody knows and somebody should tell. The administration allowed the SGA to try game machines in the snack bar for a month period. From then to now there have been no complaints concerning undue noise or undue congestion in the area. These were the main objectives to putting game machines in there in the beginning. All it has cost us, the students, is the revenue from two pool tables and one pin baU machine. Late is better than never and now administrators should bow to the request of SGA officials to allow all game machinery to be moved into the snack bar. Without this move Thorpe vending Company may as well pack up all the games and attempt to refurbish them for distribution to somewhere where people have a moral code a little higher than our own. And if that happens the Student Senate may as well pack up any ideas of bujdng a T.V. for the student lounge or any special projects of the future. (Like the first Spring Fling.) With the type of student that we evidently have here the snack bar is the only safe place for the machinery. And as for the culprit (s) . . . somebody knows. The Right Of Privacy OFFICIAL STUDENT NEWSPAPER OF NORTH CAROLINA WESLEYAN COLLEGE Editor-in-Chief Charlie Rogers Associate Editor Tom Hardison Advertising MGR Phillip Frazer Business MGR Charlie Rogers Circulation MGR Bob Lauranzon Sports Writer “Smokey” Cameron Typist Peggy Verkler Photographer Jay Van Hoose Adviser Mr. Bruce Van Blarcom Columnists: Tom Hardison Reporter: Donald Williams Business Address: Box 3056, Wesleyan College Rocky Mount, North Carolina 27801 PUBLISHED WEEKLY BY WESLEYAN STUDENTS Opinions Published Do Not Necessarily Represent Those Of Wesleyan Coll«f;e WASHINGTON, D. C. -It may be hard to believe, but back about one hundred years ago. Federal tax information was regularly published in the newspapers, apparently in the hope that a man’s neighbors and acquaintances would pro vide the tax collectors with some help. Those days are gone forever —or should be. That’s why a lot of concern has been expressed this year over an executive order signed by the President on Jan. 17, 1973, which would have permitted the Depart ment of Agriculture (USDA) to inspect the federal income tax returns of more than three million farmers across Amer ica. Never before in our nation’s history had an entire group of citizens been singled out for such special treatment—such dubious distinction. Accord ingly, when the word got out about this quiet White House action, people began to speak up. Subsequently, the President narrowed the authority he had g^ranted by issuing a new executive order on March 27, 1973. But still, the questions raised were not resolved, and the House Government Opera tions Committee, on which I serve, decided to look into the matter. Privacy is important, though increasingly hard to preserve in a day when such tremendous strides have been made in elec tronic data processing. Privacy needs more protection today than it used to. Potential threats to tfie privacy of the average An^rican citizen need to be challenged and headed off. y Our Comirtittee was told by the Department of Agriculture that its intent was to prepare better and more accurate agricultural statistics—an ex- itremely worthwhile goal. Clearly, however, this goal should be achieved in such a way that our farmers’ personal privacy is maintained. In other words, adequate safeguards and controls are needed. The Agriculture Depart ment’s Statistical Reporting Service has a big, important job to do. It’s vital because the Service provides the basic information on which farmers may decide what to plant, on how farm programs are run, on how we plan for the future, at a time when food and fiber are in short supply around the world. The Service’s statistical pro gram covers the numbers of farms, acreage, crop produc tion, numbers of livestock, prices paid and received by farmers, and wage rates for farm labor, among other things. Accurate nmiling lists are needed in order to produce precisely accurate farm sur veys, and the old ways of getting enough names from a variety of sources to provide a true cross section no longer seems to suffice. That’s why they ultimately decided to take the route they chose—the tax records of the Internal Revenue Service (IRS). Financial information is also needed for the farm census but this should be voluntarily provided, not obtained straight off a farmer’s last income tax return. Accordingly, those of us on the Committee recommended that IRS provide USD A only with names and addresses; and that no personal financial data be furnished, unless an indivi dual farmer voluntarily con sents to this in writing. If this procedure is followed, USDA could ask a farmer to provide income data, but it would, be up to the farmer to decide whether or not to do so. The rights guaranteed every American citizen under the fourth amendment “to be secure in their persons . . . against unreasonable searches and seizures” are just as worth preserving in 1973 as they were in the 18th century when the Constitution was ratified. If we allow USDA to examine at random the income tax returns of our farmers today, even for a laudable purpose, what’s to stop other govern ment agencies from doing the same thing in the future? Wanted! people who can: ' If you can spend some time, even a few hours, with someone who needs a hand, not a handout, call your Icxal Voluntary Action Center. Or u'rite to: ''Volunteer, ' Washington, D.C. 20013 Wfe need you. The N’jticna! Conrcr for V'oluntnry Action a4v*ni*tng contributvd fo th« pubt>c good oJSc''*
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