Page Four
-Guilfordian, October 3, 1964
10H Editorials
Forum:
Is Affirmative Action
A Mixed Blessing?
This week the Guilfordian
presents Forum, a regular
discussion of topics among the
student body. Future sections
on capital punishment, abor
tion, prayer in the public
schools, and defense policy
are planned. If you have an in
terest in writing about one of
these topics or have a theme to
suggest, please contact us at
Box 17717. Response to all
Forum articles is welcome.
By John K. Cox
Affirmative Action is a
necessary burden in today's
America. I believe it is,
despite its drawbacks, an im
portant step towards racial
equality in this country. Now
of course I will not be one to
tell you that life can be made
into a bed of roses; Utopia is
not on the game-plan. But if
you accept that there is persis
tent injustice in American
society, then as a human being
you must accept as well the
challenge of overcoming it.
In the past twenty years we
have made great im
provements in our social
system. I speak here of Civil
Rights Acts, increased voter
registration, and integrated
school systems. But we still
have a long way to go. And Af
firmative Action-that is, the
preferential hiring of
members of minorities accor
ding to quotas-is an important
part of our battle against
racial oppression.
It is critical that all areas of
our society heretofore closed
to minorities be opened to
them. Affirmative Action
strikes at the symptoms of our
racial problems by equalizing
whites and minorities in an oc
cupational sense. Instituted by
itself it would be useless; its
importance lies in altering the
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"real" world to the extent that
minorities can play real
roles in it and thus become ex
posed to what they are being
integrated to do.
Affirmative Action is essen
tially unfair to non-minorities.
But when the arm of a pen
dulum has swung very far in
one direction, it must again
cross the center point and as
cend in the opposite direction
before it can reach a balance.
I personally would not relish
being an Alan Bakke, wedged
out of med school because of
some numerical hocus-pocus.
But the focus here is not in
dividual sacrifice but a
general societal committment
to achieving racial justice.
And I am personally willing to
participate in such an effort.
Even as part of a plan Affir
mative Action is far from
ideal. It requires sometimes
uneconomical compromises
from employers and it creates
bureaucracy, it could also lull
us into a false sense of ac
complishment if we concen
trate on it and ignore the cor
rection of th causes of racial
problems. But it is jusitifed,
and it will be effective. It is
worth the effort.
By Bill Wilder
There is plenty of controver
sy surrounding affirmative
action. It has been perceived
alternately as a panacea for
America's racial problems
and as a euphemism both with
open-minded progressiveness
and with unrealistic
liberalism. I submit that it is
neither.
It is an attempt and a wor
thy one, I believe, to advance
the cause of minorities in this
country. Unfortunately the
very act of singling out a par
ticular group and giving them
special legislative rights often
causes even more discrimina
tion, a discrimination spring
ing not from prejudice but
from a reluctance to be so
close to court. Let me clarify
myself.
In many business contracts,
both parties desire the right to
be able to terminate the rela
tionship in the event that
things do not work out. Just as
an employee would be reluc
tant to accept a job from
which he or she could not
escape, so an employer is
oftentimes reluctant to hire
someone from which he or she
cannot at least initially,
escape. Unfortunately, this is
just where the whole affir
mative action mentality steps
in. Many employers do not feel
free to hire someone they do
not feel free to fire, and if this
someone is a minority then
they will have a harder time
finding a job. It is simply safer
to hire the average white male
if at all possible. No court case
is likely at all then. What the
affirmative action mentality
dies is make a employer feel
that they cannot safely give a
minority a chance. So they do
not and everyone ends up los
ing.
Then what is to be done? Ob
viously something needs to be
done and it is also asinine to
act as if no real discrimination
exists. But it is also asinine to
assume that affirmative ac
tion and the mentality sur
rounding it solve all the pro
blems. Our destination should
be the equal acceptance of
every race in society; that
much is self-evident. No mat
ter what anyone says, affir
mative action is not the yellow
brick road to equality yet
those who claim no road is
needed are indeed living in the
Land of Oz.
Letters
The Editor
Lake Litter
To the Editor:
Many times in past weeks I
have walked to the Guilford Col
lege lake. It is a saddening sight
to see the wanton destruction of
the lake environment. Garbage,
especially aluminum cans and
glass bottles, are strewn about as
numerous as blades of grass not
only on land but floating in the
water as well! Protecting the en
vironment is perhaps the most
important duty that we, as in
habitants of the earth can per
form, especially in these days of
lack of concern for preserving
our precious natural resourses in
their natural states.
I would like to propose that
Guilford students join forces and
spend some time cleaning up the
lake and the surrounding area.
Let's transmute the lake from a
garbage dump into a natural area
which can be admired and en
joyed for its beauty. Guilford
needs concerned students to
come forth and stop the slow and
painful death of the Guilford Col
lege lake. I would appreciate any
interested person turning his
name with any comment into the
Guilfordian office so that a
cleanup group can be organized
as soon as possible.
Andrew Stuart
Library's Reply
To the Editor:
Thank you for Tracey Clark's
recent article and your editorial
about the fire-detection equip
ment recently installed in the
library. It was the editor of The
Guilfordian who, as a student
library worker this summer,
raised the issues that led to the in
stallation of the present system. I
appreciate your concern for the
safety of those who use the
Library.
I was upset to discover that the
large, red and white
"Emergency Exit" sign by the
window on the second floor of the
stacks had been torn down. (The
small, hand-lettered sign pic
tured in the editorial was put up a
few days before the large signs
arrived, and had not been remov
ed.) As your editorial recom
mends, I have put up a large,
temporary sign until another per
manent one is installed. I am
angry that anyone would remove
an emergency sign. Tampering
with fire equipment at Guilford is
an offense for which the penalty
is automatic suspension from the
college.
The Maintenance Department
has been seeking a chain ladder
that will attach to the wall inside
the building below the exit win
dow on the second floor, and will
store in a box mounted there.
Such a ladder is manufactured
but as yet the supplier has not
been found. We considered not
marking the window as an exit
until the ladder was in place, but
decided that, in an emergency, a
two-story drop is better than a
fire.
The carrel desks have been
removed from in front of the exit
windows. Student workers have
been re-reminded via individual
notes about the procedures to
follow in case the alarm goes off.
More flashlights have been pur
chased, and we are considering
buying a small, battery-operated
bullhorn. All of these measures
are, as you suggest, overdue and
inadequate. The renovated and
expanded Library will certainly
have an improved fire-detection
and alarm system, probably in
cluding a public address system,
lighted exit signs, and
smoke/heat detectors throughout
the building. In the meantime
students and others who use the
building should be aware of exit
locations, stay awake, and not
tamper with fire detection equip
ment.
Sincerely your friend,
Damon D. Hickey
Associate Library Director
Freshman Care
As a freshman, I wish to say
something positive about the
class of 1988. In spite of the
editorials in the September 26
issue of The Guilfordian, and in
spite of condenscension from
various sources, I hope to point
out some very good aspects of the
freshman class.
Clayton J. Tyson tried to justify
the apathy which was somewhat
obvious at the Distinguished
Visitor Lecture. I see no reason to
justify our actions. There was a
bit of distraction, but very much
caring, very much involvement.
Several students took notes,
several others sat intrigued by
the lecture. We are just as con
cerned about human suffering
and broad political issues as up
per classmen. We wish more up
per classmen had attended the
lecture and we invite them to par
ticipate in the Campus Network
for Amnesty International which
was begun by none other than
freshmen. We had hoped to see
more upper classmen at the
Amnesty International meeting
which was open to everyone. I do
not mean to insinuate that upper
classmen are apathetic; I only
want to emphasize the extent to
which freshman are indeed ex
hibiting concern. Let's work
together.