Jennifer Woods
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EHIatt Vamock, Editor
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The entire world is an onion.
And sometimes it stinks . . . stinks
really bad.
For those of you out there on the
other side of the printed page who
don't know about onions, the heart
of the translucent vegetables often
stinks the worst.
So it goes in the world.
The birthplaces of humanity and
civilization become the most
decadent and disgusting.
Greece, the foundation of western
democracy, exists in the nether
realm of a facist government; Italy,
birthplace of republics that spot the
globe, runs rampant with absurd
government officials . and insane
economics; and worst of ail, Africa,
the continent that was the cradle of
life of earth, the land that gave birth
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between the Indian and Atlantic
Oceans crippled like a doldrum
enshrouded ship.
Starvation grips the northern and
central parts of Africa surrounding
the Sahara Desert, political
upheaval still grips the western coast
while the apartheid system has
wrapped its tail around the Cape of
Good Hope and run up into
Rhodesia.
Perhaps the worst example which
typifies the disorder covering the
continent is the recent showcase trial
of murderers who had killed
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: has reportedly found the remains of
one of the most celebrated voyages
of all time.
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; wirsrlswent mountainside of Mount
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wooden remnant of Noah's Ark.
Over the years con men have
made a bundle of cash selling pieces
of the sacred cross, Christ's manger,
staff of S t. Patrick and other various
holy relics, but Crotser had a little
more scientific purpose in mind ant
took some fragments to the
University of Madrid where carbon,
testing dated the wood jas 4,000 to
5,000 years old.
A 1916 Russian expedition
supposedly took some relics from
inside the ice-imbedded structure
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Tuesday, July 2, 1974
American statesmen Cleo Noel and
George Curtis Moore in the Sudan
city of Khartoum.
Khartoum, the city where
members of the British empire's
army had fallen in battle against
Moselm forces during the 19th
century, now marks the sport where
United States statesmen were held
hostage and later murdered by eight
members of the Black September
organization.
When brought to trial, the
terrorists were convicted then given
seven year sentences. To make sure
justice was complete, the Sudanese
turned the murderers over to the
Palestinian Liberation Organization
to carry out the sentence, much in
the same way the Americans used to
ask they be allowed .to mete out
punishment to whites who had killed
Indians.
It doesn't take a history major to
remember what sort of justice was
served in the days of the old west,
and it doesn't take much intelligence
to Figure out what sort of justice will
be delivered by an organization that
advocates its members to kill for
political gain.
One has to wonder if it would
have better to not sentence the
terrorists at all instead of
prostituting justice.
Like we said, sometimes the world
stinks. -
Genesis:
omen
but the valuable artifacts were
reported to be destroyed during the
Bolshevik Revolution of 1917 in
Moscow.
As long as I've been alive (less
than a quarter of a century), IVe
always been fascinated by the
rumored discovery of ancient
treasures. I suppose there's a little
Cortez in all of us; but more than
that, it's nice in these times when
everything seems settled into a state'
of deterioration and mayhem to find
a symbol of tranquility and . . .yes,
even . . . religious significance.
We can only hope that in this age
of Patty Hearsts, Black Septembers
and Clifford Irvings that maybe this
really is Noah's Ark.
And . maybe the world doesn't
stink so bad after all.
Early morning f Idling at a lece!
After nine months in France with the
UNC Year at Lyon program, I stepped off
the S& France and approached the American
passport officer.
Next passport, please. Well, miss, so
you're from Charlotte, city of fast women
and good slow beer. And you've been in
France, huh? So what's a young girl like you
doing travelling alone like this? Welcome
back to America, and have a nice trip home
to Carolina."
I walked on to customs rather stunned by
the friendly slap on the back and let-me-tell-you-a-cule-joke
routine which I'd forgotten
while in France. I found myself at a loss for
reaction. I was as confused as I had been
when speaking French with vicious red tape
bureaucrats on the other side of the sea.
Alas, the infamous customs official was
looming ahead, and I knew that I must
slither past him with my well-over $100 gift
and souvenir collection, my bottles of fine
wine and liqueur and illegal Havana cigars.
" The customs man greeted me and asked if
Murray Fogler
. Student Government recently shelled
out $150 to join the National Student
Lobby (NSL). It is the only national
organization to which our student
government belongs but $150? Is it
worth it?
First let me tell you a little about
NSL. As its name implies, it is a
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SHORT SHIRTS RHOt..
Laura Toler
C&im a mediocre TCDeraoirn make it
Can the mediocre, average Joe make
it in the new society? Special knowledge
and expertise are what success is made
of, now to a greater extent than ever
before. Likewise, success in the social
world depends on Joe's ability to shine
Sun ptteto by Td Ulnfc
pend
I wefe a student. 1 replied, yes.
"Yep. Can always tell. Ma'am, I'm gonna
check your things here, if I may. Do you have
any drugs stashed in your backpack?"
"Oh, no." 1 thought hastily about the
cigars which were in my guitar case and
wished I hadn't bothered to buy them.
"What are you studying, dear?"
I answered that 1 was studying English and
religion which pleased the official
immensely.
"Religion. And I see you're from North
Carolina. Billy Graham, isn't he from North
Carolina, too?"
"Yes, sir, he is. As a matter of fact we study
Billy Graham in college." Suddenly 1 felt
better about the cigars.
The official explained that New Yorkers
loved Billy and followed his crusades closely.
He then returned to business:
"Let's see. Please open your canvas bag.
Now do you have any alcoholic beverages in
here?"
eni 'toMyMoiniey
registered lobbying group with full-lime
offices in Washington. Created in 1971,
the organization ostensibly represents
all students in an attempt to influence
congressional legislation that affects
students.
For example, minimum wage bills
that contained provisions that would
a
to be d if ferent and be noticed . Can we
be individuals in the mad stampede to
variety? And must Joe go crazy trying to
create a role for himself? Or is it normal
to be weird?
To all those named Joe, I apologize
for symbolizing you as my "common
person." Take comfort in the idea that
even he who writes his reports, pinches
his secretary, consumes his T.V. dinner
and settles unblinkingly before John
Chancellor plus nightly encores is
destined to be different if every other
soul follows the trend of conforming to
diversity.
The accumulation of information, we
are told, is astounding. Libraries cannot
keep pace. Accordingly, there is need of
specialists to research every aspect of
every area and report their findings to
our neutral decision makers, who are
too busy ingeniously staying alive in the
political arena to worry about being
informed.
Such progress may lead to
automation which takes Joe's job. We
The summer Tar Heel not only
welcomes, but urges the expression of
:: all points of view on the editor! l page :
jij: through the letters to the editor. :
Although the newspaper reserves the
right to edit all letters for libelous
statements and good taste, we urge
you to write us, whatever your ::
problem, point of view or comment. :
jij Letters should be limited to 30)
words and must include the name, ijij
x address and phone number of the
writer. We will not print a letter
without knowing the writer's name.
:: Type letters on a 60 space line. Submit jij:
them to the Tar Heel office .la the $i
: Student Union.
VbSVW.S'.Vi"..
'bib
I felt vibes suggesting not to push my luck,
so I replied that, yes, I had a mere four
bottles of vintage variety ranging from
blackberry liqueur to sangria to white
champagne. The official smiled and said that
since he liked the Bible and I knew about
Billy Graham he'd give me a reduction on
duty. He charged me the modest sum of 96 .
We chatted as he sorted through my
belongings. I kept a careful eye on him as he
destroyed my packing job. I worried that he
might find something he . shouldn't.
Mercifully he ignored private-looking cases
and notebooks that could be diaries or
information for the CIA. I reminded him
that I. was delighted, to be back in the old
country here a cold Coke costs only 20c.
He corrected me and said, "Thirty in New
York, sweetie, and telephones are 20 now."
Moving along quickly we came to the
guitar case, that well-known storage bin for
uppers and downers that are trying to get
across the border. 1 held my breath: I. think
he sensed it after his years of experience on
have allowed employers to pay students
only 80 per cent of the minimum wage
were strongly opposed by NSL, and
they scored a minor victory when some
of the provisions were defeated.
Another issue was the reinstatement
of the youth air-fare discounts (NSL
testified in Senate sub-committees in
favor of the bill it subsequently
passed in the Senate, but awaits
Committee hearings in the House).
By far the most salient legislation that
arises annually is that dealing with
student financial aid. Our entire higher
education system both public and
private institutions. is in the throes of
a serious financial crisis as the cost of
providing quality education skyrockets.
NSL, among numerous other groups,
is lobbying to keep tuition low so that
college costs will be within the range of
most income brackets. Accompanying
this action is the push for more direct aid
to students. The situation is infinitely
complicated and highly political, but
since bills that are related to these
problems are of vital importance to
students, it is encouraging to know that
there are professional lobbyists who
have the students' interests in mind.
Students government at UNC has
been traditionally an internal affair
concerned solely with matters peculiar
to UNC (the one exception that comes
to mind, of course, is the student
activism of the late 60's, but even this
activism was not the arm of student
government as such). But today, for a
couple of reasons, we can ill afford such
a parochial view. '
For one thing, students now have a
will soon know enough to create
computers that accomplish such
routinely boring endeavors as writing
obituaries about the culmination of
someone's" attempt at meaning ... or
diversity.
Anyway, maybe the technocrats will
be smart enough to find a new means of
livelihood for Joe, such as oiling the
computer. Or perhaps he too must find
the money and the time to become a
specialist a sort of professional,
ideological money-maker whose
distinctive employment creates spill
overs into his. social role.
Even the distinguished specialist
often adopts hobbies and ways of
joking, speaking and dressing that
follow the stereotype of his field. We are
political activists. We grow ourhair and
read "Doonesbury" and laugh. We are
biologists, and we keep a garden and a
whole zoo of pets and cry in vain for the
salvation of the ecosystem.
Yet we find or found d ifferences
within specialization. One Joe likes
classical music, another likes jazz; one
never plays the second side of an album,
one plays guitar and one makes candles.
All these novel pursuits are
rami
(Uar
lied
his side of the counter.
"Now, do you have anything in your case
here besides a guitar?"
I clenched my fist behind my back and
replied that, yes, indeed, 1 had inside it a
tuning fork and a capo.
-Wonderful," he said. "Keep practicing.
Oh, yes, about your purchases abroad.
Looks like you bought, let's see $97 worth
while you were there. That about right?"
"Why almost exactly, sir. How did you
know?"
He told me he'd been working this job too
long to make mistakes. He added, "Glad to
have you in the home of the brave, honey. So
lorg and take care with all that liquor.".
1 breathed deeply, pleased with my results,
as the stevedore loaded up my baggage. Then
I remembered that once when I was 12 and at
my grandmother's church I had seen Billy
Graham and shaken his hand. The thrill was
mild , but it proved to be quite a way through
customs.
wel
n
vote; this certainly doesn't
automatically guarantee a heightened
interest in all levels of politics or
government, to be sure, but it does mean
that we ought to be more concerned (or
at least informed) about issues that
affect us. And it also means that when
we approach our legislators, our
opinions have much more credence than
before. It is the purpose of NSL to
provide organization and cogence to the
fragmented but large mass to students
so that the power of the numbers of
students may be utilized to its best
advantage.
Another reason we must climb out of
our shell is that there are no longer
matters "peculiar to UNC." The
University at Chapel H ill is not only one
of the 16 constituent institutions
supported by the state, it it is also part of
the larger society of institutions of
higher learning around the country.
Most of the issues confronting UNC are
also national concerns, and it stands to
reason that by working together with
other schools we can better solve our
problems. - - -
In view of all thisvthe $150 investment
in NSL seems to be a prescription for
corrective lenses for student
government's myopia. As Marcus
Williams, student body president,
states: "They can give us the perspective
for progressive legislation."
Whether student government will
actively participate in NSL or whether it
will be able to exploit this perspective of
which Marcus speaks remains to be
seen, but at least it's a step in the right
direction.
today?
completely voluntary, we say, and are
used for time not spent on keeping up
with the afore-mentioned rush of
information. We triumph in ourabilities
to get a rise out of a Joe who discovers
our pet boa constrictor or our amazing
talent for resurrecting trivia.
Perhaps we naturally are all
qualitatively different. But must we not
admit that we are all quantitatively
identical (as Thomas Jefferson would
insist) in our attempts to force ourselves
into unusual roles?
Alls I know is I've been sprawled in
the Arb trying to write this masterpiece,
feeding the squirrels and, except for the
presence of 15 other kids sprawled in the
Arb, feeling much more unique and
creative than all the Joes inside writing
at their desks.
And here come not one but two of
those grass-eating instruments of
technology, the riding kind that save us
all that time in which to play golf for
exercise ... or all that cholesterol for
our heart attacks. I must leave now in
the populous charge over the mediocre
Joes, for I do not wish to be left behind
in the widespread attempt to become
unique.
Vabrl3 Jordan., f'snsglng Editor
Jim Grimsby Asst. V.zn. Editor
Jo 3 1 Crlnkby N2v.3 Editor
Join Sw2i:ov....Associst2 Editor
Ur TTiwfTi3 wor3 dcJ3r
CD. Gaines Features Editor
IValtar Coltort AVlro Editor