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THE TWIG
OCTOBER 22, 1980
THE
MEREDITH
TWiC
COLLEGE
Editors
Reporters
Columnists
Photographers
Sports Editor
Business Manager
Circulation
Layout Editor
Layout Staff
Cartoonist
Proofreading
Advertising Manager
Exchange Editor
Faculty Advisors
Sonya Ammons,
Deborah Bartlett
Jill Allen, Nan Davis,
Maresa Firth, Wendy Fischer,
Beth Giles, Shirene Hritzko,
Mavnell Johnson, Susan McD^ough, Heidi Nill,
Kathy O’Brien, Cindy Rinker, Linda Sellers,
Sandra Vail, Cynthia Washington
Cindy Rinker,
Ann Stringfield
Ruthie McCollum, Jackie Duong,
Kelly Sullivan, Lori Whittemore
Darla Stephenson
Mary Jacque Peterson
Terri Hoffman, Susan McDonough
Susan Jones
Maresa Firth, Maynell Johnson
Allison Honeycutt, Heidi Nill,
Linda Sellers, Cynthia Washington
Wendy Fischer
Shirene Hritzko, Susan McDonough
Carolyn Dunn
Ann Stringfield
Dr. Donald Samson, Mr. Bill Norton,
Dr. Thomas Parramore
Reagan’s recent agreement to debate Carter without An
derson comes as a welcome shift in this year’s presidential
campaign. The change, however, does not come completely
without opposition. There are those who still maintain that An
derson should be included in the debates. These people, who
criticize Reagan for weakening under pressure, should note that
Anderson no longer qualifies under the rules which allowed his
involvement in the first debate of the campaign. Despite the
publicity Anderson gained in the last debate, he no longer has 15
percent of the support in the public opinion polls. If he were
allowed to debate without the 15 percent support set aside as a
standard of eligibility by the League of Women Voters, then Clark
should be included also.
In a year in which many voters are frustrated by what they
consider a necessity to choose a president from the lesser of evils
rather than from ttie better of two leaders, the debate provides
some spark of hope. For the voters who do not have a clear
favorite, hopefully, there wiD be an c^portunity to re-examine the
main differences in the policies of the two major candidates.
Perhaps an even great benefit is the fact that viewers will be able
to judge the candidates not just on their ideas but also on their
abilities to support their ideas. In the past few years, this country
has become keenly aware of the need for the president to be able
to influence both Congress and foreign leaders. As it is relatively
insignificant that a president supports the same issues and values
as the majority of the population if his influence is not sufficient to
sway those with whom he works daily, voters should evaluate
each candidate’s communication skills as well as his goals for
office.
Because of the closeness of the debate, which is tentatively
scheduled for October 28, to election day, the impact of the debate
on the election probably will be greater than it would have been if
it had occurred earlier in the year. Certainly, the opportunity for
one last minute look at the major candidates before the election is
one of which students should take advantage.
S. A.
Any students or faculty-staff wishing to place ads in a
Classified Section of The TWIG may do so by contacting
Carolyn Dunn, Advertising Manager at 828-5653. Special
student and faculty-staff rate is $2.00 per column inch.
Politics ’80
by Cindy Rinker
CHANGE ITSELF
CARRIES NO CONDITION
OF IMPROVEMENT. Rather
it is the conditions of a change
that determine improvement
or deterioration.
The people of the United
States are tired. Many are
ready for a change in
government; but, in looking
for that change, they may not
consider whether it would
have more good or ill effects
on themselves.
Ronald Reagan is offering
the people of the United States
a change - for better or worse
is for the individual to con
sider in his own mind.
However, the individual
should weigh the conditions
that make up and surround
the change that Reagan is
offering.
The following facts in
clude some that are not often
brought up by Reagan in his
campaigning as well as some
that are.
Shortly after his
inauguration into the office of
governor of California,
Reagan proposed a severe
budget cut for University of
CalUornia campuses and state
colleges. University President
Clark Kerr opposed the cuts
and as a show of opposition,
closed the following term
admissions in a strong effort
to point out the importance of
the budget cuts. Reagan
retaliated in the form of
forcing the dismissal of Keer
at the school’s Board of
Regents Meeting.
Reagan did attempt to cut
and trim the state’s budget as
governor of California.
However, his final budget
proposal in his first year was
higher than that of his
predecessor. To finance this
budget, Reagan ordered the
largest tax increase that any
governor had ever proposed.
Reagan decreased
welfare rolls and reduced
property taxes while governor
of California. However, he
ultimately had to raise income
taxes.
Reagan supports abortion
only as a means of self-
defense for the mother.
The elimination of the
minimum wage is supported
by Reagan. If not complete
elimination, then Regan
suggests a two-step minimum
wage - a lower one for young
people who are entering the
work force for the first time
and do not bring any great
experience in work skills to
the market.
Reagan favors
deregulation of natural gas
and the elimination of price
controls on oil.
Reagan opposes a tax on
large automobiles and a
standby tax on gasoline.
Reagan is a strong sup
porter of the death penalty.
Firm in the belief that society
has the right to take the life of
those who commit murder
with premeditation, he con
siders the death penalty the
ultimate deterrent of crime.
Reagan also considers gun
control an unrealistic and
dangerous answer to the
crime problem.
Although he claims to be a
supporter of equal rights for
all Americans, Reagan does
not support the Equal Rights
Amendment. He feels that the
ERA is not the answer to the
equal rights problem.
The above information
provides the individual with a
very brief look at some of the
conditions that surround the
change Ronald Reagan could
bring. The choice of the in
dividual in the Presidential
election should be a thoughtful
one - after all, it is the most
important.
A guest editorial
The world is your home
by Andrew Young
I am always amazed at
the real power college
students have at their com
mand, and how much of it
goes unused - wasted.
That is a shame. Because
student power could provide
that critical margin, that
extra measure of push needed
to channel our national
policies, our energies and our
consciousness into new ways
of meeting the very pressing
needs of the people of this
world.
No, I am not talking about
the street demonstrations and
the sit-ins that were part of
another decade. I am talking
about the power you have -
collectively - as citizens,
voters, and shapers of opinion,
and about the power you have
as individuals to make things
happen on your own.
I am told that the current
generation of college students
is more concerned with their
own welfare than with making
this planet a better place to
live. I am told that. But I don’t
believe it. I suspect that
today’s college students are
simply not aware of what is
going on in the world.
Take the issue of world
hunger. Think of the
thousands of people who will
not live until tomorrow
morning because they can’t
get enough to eat. Now what
can you do?
I think it is really simple
for a campus hunger com
mittee to establish a voter
registration booth where
students pay their tuition and
begin to talk about the
problem - raise political
consciousness. The problem
with young people, and I’ve
learned this from my own
family, is that they all register
to vote back home and then all
forget until the last minute to
write home for absentee
ballots. You’ve got to get
people to register on their
campuses. TOiink this would
revolutionize American
politics.
If you have, for example,
55 thousand students on
campus like Ohio State, or 45
thousand at Michigan State,
and they are registered, every
candidate coming to those
states would come through the
campuses because there are
so many voters there. And at
that point you get to ask the
candidate about what he or
she is going to do about world
hunger. Then the candidate
goes to another campus and
gets the same question. That
starts people in public life
thinking, coming up with
policies to change things, to
get action.
Let me talk for a moment
about the other kind of power,
the power students have as
individuals. You have a
decision to make: whether to
use the knowledge and ex
perience you are going to help
only yourself or to share the
fruits of your education with
people who desperately need
what you have to give.
You don’t even have to re
invent the wheel. It’s already
been done. It’s called the
Peace Corps. Some 80
thousand people, many of
them fresh out of school, have
served as Peace Corps
volunteers helping people in
the developing world help
themselves to a better life.
The Peace Corps is
celebrating its 20th An
niversary. It is still going
strong, still attracting bright
people who want to enrich
their lives by helping others.
It is an option worth
considering. So is service in
this country as a VISTA
volunteer. VISTA, which
stands for Volunteers in
Service to America, has just
celebrated its 15th An-
mversary.
The nice thing about
VISTA and Peace Corps is
that they work. They get
results. As an individual
volunteer, you may even
change world history, and you
will certainly change the lives
of the people you come in
contact with. When you add up
all the lives touched by all the
volunteers, think of the dif
ference it makes.
The problems of this
world are not going to go away
overnight. A better world is
built just like a house, brick-
by-brick, piece by piece.
Yes, college students do
have power, collectively and
individually. How well they
use that power will make a
difference in how well, we, as
a world community, meet the
challenges of this decade.
(Mr. Young is a former
United States ambassador to
the United Nation.)