Newspapers / Meredith College Student Newspaper / Jan. 24, 1980, edition 1 / Page 2
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PAGE 2 THE TWIG JANUARY 24, 1980 THE MEREDITH TWiG COLLEGE Editor Assistant Editors Managing Editor Mary Katherine Pittman Darla Stephenson Kristy Beattie Reporters Kathy O’Brien, Carmen Warren, Marlene Barnett,, Beth Giles, Ann Earp, Kelley Stone, JUl Allen, Jackie Duong Columnists Sports Editor Photographers Rq{lae Nickel, Ann Stringfieid Daria Stephenson Paula Douglas, Lorri Whittemore Btuiness Manager Leslie Landis Circulation EMitor Layout Editors Margie Snell Suzanne Barr, IM>oraEBartlett, Sonya Ammons, Susan Jones Cartoonist Ann Beamon Proofreading Faculty Advisors Ann Earp Dr. Tom Parrpmore, Mr.Bin Norton Afgan takeover summarized Cherry trees for roses To the Editor: As Valentine’s Day approaches, I am reminded of the good fortune of so many Meredith students, to receive such beautiful displays of affection as those I have seen on past Valentine’s Days in Johnson Hall. I have been especially impressed by the beauty of the roses, which seem to be the most common species of flower given. But I must say that the Valentines’ roses have not im pressed me as much as the flowering cherry trees along the front drive have, despite their fewness and their decay. I have bought how beautiful the drive would be with flowering cherry trees lining it on both sides, especially in the spring. Roses are beautiful, but cherry trees in full bloom lift the spirit in a way, I think, that no number of roses could. Roses last a few days; flowering cherry trees, I have been told by a local nursery, live an average of 15 years with minimal care. A dozen roses will cost this year, a local florist tells me, $25 to $35 a dozen, depending on length of stem. A flowering cherry trees would cost slightly over $15 for a four to five foot tree, and slightly over $20 for a six to seven foot tree. Instead of a dozen roses, would not some students prefer to have two trees to enjoy for 15 years along the drive, two trees to add to the attractiveness of our campus and to share with everyone? Some students already have expressed interest to me in such a project. I would like to speak to anyone who is interested in it, and perhaps provide some information in the next issue of The TWIG on what students who wish to have friends and family participate in the project instead of sending flowers should do. Thank you for this opportunity to propose this project. Cordially, D. C. Samson by Regine Nickel The 1970s were rung out in violence and blackmail by one small nation - Iran, which took international law and molded it according to its own liking. The new dacade began with an equally ominous bang; the Soviet Union militarily seized another county - Afghanistan - for the first tiihe since World War II, a country strictly outside the traditional sphere of influence. What happened in Afghanistan? On New Year’s Day West German national television broadcasted its weekly discussion on international affairs, featuring five jour nalists from five different countries. That day the main attention was focussed on the representative of TASS in West Germany. He told the audience the “facts” of the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan; the oppressed and persecuted Afghanistan patriot Babrak Karmal had telephoned his loyal allies in Moscow and asked them for help against the imperialistic and fascistic forces of President Amin. Naturally the Soviets were morally obliged to comply with this desperate request... (the moral of this “story” being, don’t let a potentially communist fellow- citizen get near a phone). What astonished Western journalists and observers the most was President Amin’s fall from grace. Only two months ago the East German party paper NEUES DEUTSCHLAND (New Germany) had hailed Amin as a friend of the Soviet Union and had published a letter of congratulations for work well done, a letter which had been written by East German party leader Erich Honecker himself. What, then, really Happened in Afghanistan? In April of 1978 Amin and a group of communist, Soviet oriented men had gained power in the backwards, almost feudal, mountainous country. An internal power struggle soon developed and Amin’s colleague Karmal was JACK ANDERSON ^ WEEKLY SPECTAL By JACK ANDERSON and JOE SPEAR WASHINGTON - Con gress comes back to work next week in a grim, demanding mood. The legis lators want some tough answers from Jimmy Carter on Iran and Afghanistan. Since the seizure of the hostages in Tehran and the Soviet takeover in Kabul, Congress and Carter’s poten tial White House successors. Republican and Democrat alike, have observed a reluc tant cease-fire while Kho meini and the Kremlin have treated him as a pygmy president. They’ve been patient as he’s pursued a course of cau tion through the United Nations and economic pres sures that were scoffed at by the captors of the hostages in the embassy and the Sovi et leaders who overran Afghanistan with raw armed agjg*ession. T^e political sands are running out on Carter at home in a presidential elec tion year. When Congress reconvenes on Jan. 22, ques tions will be asked on the Senate and House floors about the caliber of his lead ership and his advisers. Members of both the Sen ate and House Intelligence Committee are preparing for early top-secret hear ings. CIA and administration officials will have to explain the Iranian fiasco starting from the precipitous White House decision to allow the shah to enter this country for medical treatment. The Senate Foreign Rela tions Committee is also anx ious to investigate the han dling of the crisis. . Our sources say the prestigious committee wants to know why intelligence agencies failed to predict the shah’s entry would touch off the violent response by Ayatol lah Khomeini’s henchmen; why no adequate response to the outrageous embassy seizure was forthcoming and why no one in Washington knew who was really calling forced to flee the country. With despotic and cruel methods Amin consolidated his power, focusing more and more on his own influence, less and less listening to the Soviet advisors in Uie country. Karmal, then, found open arms in Moscow. Then the Amin regime turned on Moscow fiercely, blaming internal trouble and the unrest in the military, which had tried a coup in July of 1979, on Moscow. Thus, openly ridiculated Moscow had to act. The invasion was the drastic consequence. Saving face could not be the only reason for Soviet intervention. Western ob servers see a great potential of danger for Pakistan and Iran. The Iranian oil wells are desirable, but surely there is no Soviet oriented faction in Iran. However, there is a lively communist party in Pakistan. What could Pakistan offer the Soviets?. Pakistan would be the corridor to the Indian Ocean and bring the Soviet Union to the fulfillment of the old Czarist dream of an all-year open warm water port, and the control of the oil routes out of the Persian gulf. The world reaction to the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan will be covered in next week’s column. Food for thought The recent survey submitted by A.R.A. food services has been the subject of much student ^cussion in the past week. Complaints on the quality and the variety of the food served in Belk Dining Hall have been expressed verbally as well as in the form of written petition. We as students certainly have the right to r^uest better food quality and variety. A certain part of the tuition we pay'per semester goes to food costs and provides salaries for cafeteria employees. Because we in fact support the cafeteria financially, we naturally expect the dining hall staff to comply with our wishes by serving us the best food available for the lowest possible price. Besides supporting the cafeteria financially, we also support the efforts of the dining hall staff by attending meals and special events they prepare for us. Because the cafeteria is supported by the students, we are responsible for making known any grievance or dissatisfaction with food or service in general. In making our complaints known, we must remember that the cafteria operates under certain limitations. Rising food costs make purchase of expensive cuts of meat and gourmet items impossible. The budget does not allow for extravagance on a daily basis so that only on special occasions can we expect country ham and roast beef. Furthermore, the dining hall staff cannot be ex pected to prepare perfectly seasoned food or fry eggs “once over lighUy.” The very fact that the students were surveyed indicates the dining hall staff’s interest in student opinion. So, let’s make our complaints reasonable and suggest realistic improvements. MKP the shots in the frenzied Ira nian hierarchy. Congress will also want to know why the Carter admin istration ignored advance warnings by Pakistan that the Russians were about to embrace neighboring Afghanistan in a bearlike grip. We’ve learned that only a few weeks before the airborne Soviet invasion of the mountainous gateway to Pakistan and Iran, a delega tion of Pakistani diplomats met with Secretary of State Cyrus Vance and his aides to sound the alarm. They predicted that Red Army units were prepared to move in on the puppet regime. But our Foggy Bot tom policy makers ignored the clear alert and Carter had to confess that he was caught by surprise by the Soviet move. The president says he has now learned to distrust the Russians - almost as much as his State Department experts disbelieved the Pakistanis. RHNi and medicine ferhungpy and sick CAMBODIAN REFUGEES Send Your Help Now Through CARE HERE IS OUR HELP FOR CAMBODIAN REFUGEES NAME ADDRESS . CITY JSTATE _ -2/P_ (MAKE CHECKS PAYABLE TO CARE.) CARE, 1618 Thompson Avenue IB Atlanta, Georgia 30344 FUND FOR CAMBODIANS
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