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THE TWIG
NOVEMBER 18. 1981
THE TWIG
RALEIGH. NORTH CAROLINA mil
EdJlor-in-Chief
Mani^ng Editor
News Editor
Copy Editing
Senior Reporters
Sports
Staff Reporters
Lori Howeil
Ann Strlngfield
Unda Sellers
Usa Cline
Linda Sellers, Sandra Vail
Marla Blackmon. Carole Jeanne Ricks
ShireneHrltzko,
Emily Craig, Susan McDonough,
Lauren Starboard, Lisa Sorrels, Keri Baker
Columnist s Cindy Rinker, Kathleen McKeel,
Ann Strlngfield
Business Manager Carolyn Dunn
Layout Editor Kathleen McKeel
Layout Staff Yvonne Sjamaar, Fran Little, Faith Wells
Advertising Manager Carolyn Dunn
Circulation Managers Catherine McLeod,
Stephanie Prevatte
Circulation Emily Craig, Kim Tanskey,
Melody West
Faculty Advisors Mr. Bill Norton.
Dr. Thomas Parramm-e,
Dr. Donald Samson
■Hie TWIG welcomes comment and will give prompt
consideration to any criticisms submitted in writing and
signed by the writer.
Open season on turkeys
Reagan^s
Economics
The Reagan Administration’s economic program consists of
a fine balance between 3 different goals: first - increasing the rate
of real economic growth, 2nd - lowering the inflation rate as fast
as possible, and 3rd - Reagan’s campaign promise of establishing
a balanced budget by 1984.
A great deal has been made in the press of the alleged
inconsistancies among these goals. Speaker of the House Thomas
P. “Tip” O’Neill shared this view with the press • “why fight a
popular President if his program is going to self destruct?”
It is unclear why the President’s opponents are so convinced
of the incapacitability among the three viewpoints. First of all,
the suppiy-siders fully support a policy of moderate and
predictable growth in the monetary aggregates and they strongly
support OMB’s efforts to reduce the growth of spending.
The Administration’s monetarist’s fight against inflation is
aided by a higher saving rate and a larger supply of incentives -
tax breaks, less government interference etc. - that encourage
production and raise productivity. It is easier to bring down
prices if better incentives and higher tax rate returns are aiding
production.
The Republican traditionalists who believe that a balanced
budget is the prerequisite for a stable economy, are pleased with
the supply-side and monetarist policies that provide for lowering
expenditure growth. Real economic growth reduces budget
expenditures and helps balance the budget. If better incentives
mean more jobs, then expenditures for support programs will be
lower.
The Reagan Administration has a coherent view of the
mistake, of previous administrations and a positive view of what
needs to be done to remedy the nation’s economic problems. The
Administration’s program, however, can only succeed if it
adheres to its original balance of goals. One cannot override the
other.
Kathy Hoffarth
LETTERS?
The Twig welcomes letters to the editor and contributions of
columns to the editorial pages.
All contributions should be typed, double spaced and are
subject to editing.
Column writers should include their majors and hometowns;
each letter should include the writer’s name, address and
telephone number.
Uasigned letters will not be printed.
by Kathleen McKeel
Thanksgiving is one of my
favorite holidays. Mainly for
the time I can spend visiting
with relatives and relaxing
before finals as well as the
food. Thanksgiving is the one
time my family has a turkey
with all the trimmings. This
year, however, the joyful
association between
Thanksgiving and turkey has
been dulled. Diminish^ by
the sheer fact that one day
soon, before Thanksgiving
festivities begin, from the
turkeys in Raleigh, t must
choose one. A date for the
Christmas Dance.
The more fortunate
among us do not need to worry
about this dilemma for they
have already found someone
who is neither beast nor fowl.
As for the rest of us, let’s face
it, it’s open season on turkeys.
Hunting is a very serious
sport and one should proceed
with due caution. Upon my
decision to write this article I
spoke with a few leading
experts to get their
professional advice.
(1) Find the locai gathering
places: If you don’t know the
area, secure a reputable
guide. Go frequently and
familiarize yourself with the
area.
(2) Know your turkey calls.
The difference between
success and failure is often the
ability to talk turkey. The
higher your proficiency level,
the better your chances are of
bagging a prime turkey. So
practice.
(3) Once you have sighted
your prey, nail him.
Remember you are working
against a time deadline, and if
you miss this one, you will
have to start at the b^inning.
(4) Hunt in small groups. It
is less obvious to the prey that
they are being lured in for the
kill.
(5) Safety: This point
cannot be stressed enough.
Wear the proper clothing,
follow the sportsman’s rules
of conduct, and remember one
catch per woman.
If you follow these tips,
you should have a successful
hunting season.' Otherwise,
you could find yourself
spending the evening with an
unexpected catch instead of a
turkey.
Letter to the Editor
Dear Editor,
In recent weeks, security
has received wide campus
attention. The TWIG has
played an important role in
focusing this attention by
publishing a letter to the
editor and an article on
security. Thank you for this
work.
In her recent article, Ms.
Strlngfield challenged the
Meredith community to
decide how effective we want
the security force at Meredith
to be. As a student, my reply is
“VERY effective.”
Meredith has been
fortunate to escape
practically unscathed in the
rash of violent crimes against
women that have occurred in
Raleigh in the last year.
Certainly this is, in part, the
result of our security force.
The other part, quite frankly,
I attribute to luck.
Let’s face it. Meredith is
in a very vulnerable location.
First, easy access to the
campus is available from
Hillsborough Street, Faircloth .
Street, and from the footpath
adjoining Ridge Road.
Secondly, our beautiful, big
campus has plenty of hiding
spots that even the largest
security force could not
monitor.
Thirdly, lighting on
campus is inadequate in
places, to say the least.
Remote areas such as the
gym; Cate Center, and certain
lurking lots do not have well-
lighted routes back to the
more trafficked sections of the
campus. Who dares walk
along the sidewalk between
Joyner and • the Alumnae
House after 6:00 p.m.? But
what if you need to get to the
Alumnae House for a
meeting?
Fourthly, what happens
when our security guards,
who often work two jobs, need
to take a coffee break? The
choice is between leaving the
campus virtually unguarded
or having exhausted men on
duty. On occasion, the decison
has been to leave the campus
almost unguarded while the
guards run over to Mister
Donut some time between
10:00 and 12:00 p.m. to grab a
quick cup of coffee. Further,
the fact is advertised to the
public because the Meredith
security car is parked in front
of Mister Donut. 1 advocate
the right of our security force
to take a break; however,
maintaining a hi^ level of
security on campus means
having more than one guard
on the premises with a more
adequate vehicle than a little
blue scooter.
Finally, Meredith is a
women’s college. Though
obvious, this makes us even
more vulnerable to violent
crimes. And unfortunately,
the irresponsible acts of some
otherwise responsible
students create greater
hazards for themselves.
Please do not jog alone at
night. Please lock your car
and room doors. Please do not
prop the residence hall doors
open. Please help the guards
at night perform their
duties more efficiently and
effectively by waitihg
patiently upon arrival after
closing hours and by kindly
asking them to make sure
they see you safely from your
car into the dorm. Certainly
we have a responsibility to
ensure the safety of ourselves
and our fellow students. By
doing our part, maybe our
actions will encourage
administrators to act to adjust
inadequate lighting and to
enlarge our security force. We
have been lucky so far, but
now’s the time to make
impovements that will afford
greater protection.
Sincerely yours,
Lisa Ponder
Mexico under pressure
by Jack D. Crouch II
Mr. Crouch Is a Ph.D.
Candidate in International
Relations at the University of
southern California. He was a
1981 Fellow in Public
Research, Syndicated’s
Publius Fellows Program, (c)
Public Research, Syndicated,
1981
During the first fifteen
years of Castro’s regime,
Cuba had little success
exporting its revolution to
other nations in the
Caribbean. This lack of
success was due in no small
measure to the political and
military influence of the U.S.
in the region. During the
middle and late seventies,
however, the world-wide
“correlation of forces”
changed to Cuba’s advantage
and Castro began to succeed
in his effort to foment and
support revolution throughout
Central America and the
Caribbean.
One of the principal
objectives of Cuban, and by
extension Soviet, Central
American policy has been to
demonstrate to Mexico that it
can and will be threatened by
guerilla forces supported by
the socialist bloc if it does not
adopt a more acquiescent
view toward Cuban and Soviet
activity in the region. This
threat is driven home to
Mexico by the existence of
left-wing “revolutionary”
movements fostered by
Havana in El Salvador,
Guatemala, and Honduras,
and especially by Cuban
success in “regime
conversion” in Nicaragua and
Grenada.
The message to Mexico is
clear; Support Cuban-Soviet
policies or suffer the same
fate as your neighbors to the
south. It may be true that the
United States is more
agreeable to Mexico’s moral
and political worldview than
is the Soviet bloc, but there is
evidence that this
consideration is overborne by
Mexico’s desire to side with
the winner of the East-West
struggle.
As a result, Mexico has
grown increasingly
supportive of Cuban activity
in Central America.
Prior to the recent Cancun
summit, Mexican President
Jose Lopez Portillo and Castro
met to consider how ‘‘Mexico
will represent the interests of
the non-aligned movement
during the upcoming North-
South meeting,” This
preparatory meeting takes on
added significance when it is
recalled that following a
similar meeting between the
two heads of state in 1979, a
shift in Mexico’s Latin
American policy occurred.
Two days after the 1979
Castro-Portillo summit,
Mexico announced that it
would break diplomatic
relations with the besieged
Somozan government in
Nicaragua. The next day the
new Mexican Foreign
Minister, Jorge Castaneda,
asked that the U.S. “join in
isolating the authoritarian
government of Nicaraguan
President Anastasio
Somoza.” As is known, the
Somaza government fell to
Sandinista guerillas in July of
1979. .
Since the installation of
the new regime in Nicaragua,
Mexico has given more than
just tacit support to the
revolution. Although careful
not to identify itself with
Cuban support for FNLA,
Mexico has maintained close
ties with the Sandinista
leaders and has been
supportive of the new
government both morally and
materially. Mexico has
provided the Nicaraguan
government with helicopters
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