The Student Newspaper of the University of North Carolina at Charlotte Volume XIV, Number 16 Charlotte, North Carolina December 12, 1978 HEW soys athletic spending must be equal By Nancy Davis If a recent HEW proposal, pro viding equal spending for men and women athletics, goes through, UNCC’s quarter of a million dollar basketball budget for men could be cut drastically. As an effort to keep colleges and universities in compliance with Title IX, the proposal would require equal spending by a school for each athlete, male or female, in scholarships, recruitment, equipment, meals, transportation, hotels and publicity. According to Joseph Califano, secretary of HEW, there are excep tions which would protect the football programs of major colleges. Califano said the proposals “recognize that in tercollegiate football, in particular, is unique among sports at some institu tions, because of the size of its teams, the support staffs and facilities it re quires and the volume of revenue it generates." There are likely to be many heated arguments over the new proposal. Many groups applaud the require ment seeing it as another step in im proving women’s sports programs. At the same time, many see it as a threat to the male dominated college sports programs. The announcement brought out many comments by the UNCC athletic department. Serving to benefit from the proposal, UNCC assistant athletic director for women’s athletics and women’s basketball coach, Judy Wilkins, said, “Overall, if it happens the way it says, it could kill athletics at UNCC.” Wilkins, in support of the men’s basketball budget, says UNCC couldn't support “two quarter of a million dollar programs.” She also said there wouldn’t be a women’s pro gram without the revenue of the men's team. “Realistically, it would only hurt us. “Now, idealistically,” she con tinued. “I would love to get the salary, have the assistant coaches, have 12 full scholarships and jet all over the place to games.” Presently the women's basketball budget sup ports five grant-in-aids, provides no housing, no assistant coaches and must schedule games within a reasonable driving distance. Wilkins would rather have a com promise. “It can be more equal than it is,” she said. “But if it has to happen, the women's program won’t be brought up to that level. . . the men's program will be brought down.” The next 60 days have been set aside by Califano to receive com ments and criticism. Some modifica tions are expected, but the proposal is "expected to be adopted closely to as it is now. The proposal would go into ef fect this fall. (photo by Robin Colby) Women's basketball at UNCC could take a giant leap forward ifHEW's plans to equalize spending go through. The men's program could suffer greatly. Students dislike U.S. support of Shah By Rebecca Brown Because universities in Iran are closed, Iranian students have been coming to America for their educa tion. At UNCC, the 85 enrolled Ira nian students are presently having money problems. Their tuition is due, but Iranian banks are not doing business and the economic life there has stopped during the general strike. Most Iranian students here are middle to lower middle class and their parents or relatives have been financ ing their educations through small business and land sales. Even if funds could be transferred, the Iranian rial (currency) has been devalued within the last year to 40-45 percent relative to the U.S. dollar. The short term problem of tuition payments is in the' process of negotia tion between the Iranians and the ( Business Office. At the end of the holy month, Iran’s strike will be over, but Iranian students opposed to the Shah have a longer range goal if the present struggle doesn’t oust the Shah. Their goal is to educate American students about Iran, and try to persuade them to believe an Islamic republic would be more responsible to human needs than the present regime. UNCC students have seen notices posted in flowing script, communica tions written in Farsi between Ira nians, and notices in English calling for the Shah’s overthrow and more particularly the withdrawal of U.S. support for the Shah. Besides the notices, Iranian students held an “Iranian Night” dinner three weeks ago. Two Iranian students, who re quested only their first names be us ed, spoke with the paper last week. They felt official government sources were trying to brainwash the American people in case the U.S. felt military intervention was necessary. According to Ali, the Iranian peo ple “don't want a monarchy system. They are fighting for an Islamic republic. They’ve been fighting for 2,500 years. Right now, with the help of Islam and Islamic leaders, they have got the strength to fight the monarchy.” The present Shah was ousted in the late forties, but was reinstated by the CIA in 1953. Iranians estimate the U.S. spent $20 million to put the Shah back in power. In the interim, the Iranians elected a premier, equalized exports and imports and nationalized oil, the students said. Saeed, the second Iranian student, commented, “The Shah's regime has destroyed everything in Iran,” and explained that 16-20 years ago, before “modernization,” Iran could feed itself. The Iranian students were upset that industrial plants in their country were just assembly lines for parts manufactured else where. “If someday the U.S. doesn't want to send the parts to Iran, they’ll be closed up, really,” Ali commented. Socialism, the Soviet kind, would be extremely unwelcome in Iran, the students say. Shiite Moslems com prise 98 percent of the population, and these people want an Islamic state, where natural resources would be divided up among Iran's 36 million people, but under Moslem economic laws, not under a Marxist regime. Islam is an especially democratic religion. The present leader of the Shiite group, Imam Khumayni, presently in exile in Paris, is accepted because he expresses the Views of many Moslems, rather than th he was ordained by a religious heirarchy. The students quoted from the Koran, the Islamic holy book, “all or you are brothers and sisters.” Paraphrasing the Koran, Surah Saf (Part Eight), Ali said God has promis ed the oppressed people that if they will rise and fight against the wrong things God will help them because they are the true rulers of the world. Ali said he saw this society divided into two parts — consumers and capitalists, and he and Saeed felt the Shah's modernization program was designed to turn people away from religious considerations and “to make them busy and not to think about the facts in Islam.”