f t&fce Bail? tar Heel n is seventieth year of editorial freedom, unhampered by restrictions from either the University administration vr the stu dent body. All editorials appearing in the DAILY TAR HEEL are the indivdual opinions of the Editors, unless otherwise credited; they do not necessarily represent the opinions of the staff. The edi- H tors are responsible for all material printed in the DAILY TAR HEEL. October 18, 19G2 Tel. 943-2356 Vol. XLX, No. 21 t South's Troubled Search: Reconcile Beliefs, Reality Many observers of the Mississip pi crisis have claimed that the de fiance of Federal authority and en suing enrollment of Meredith mark a "turning point" in the progress of desegregation in the South this, it seems, misses the point. The "turning point" in Southern race relations which is being look ed, for, has come is coming and will come. What happened in Mississippi has affected Southern defiance phy- can't fight the Federal government; sically, but not morally. The riots they've got the H-Bomb." supporting the Fourteenth and Fif teenth amendments, or by seeing that the South's resistance is futile and this is the point. Most of the words directed at Sou therners on the race question have said, "You will lose Don't fight You will lose." For a region with a deep-seated love for lost causes, this argument carries no weight the South accepts it with spirit of Earl Long, when he said, "You make such future actions less prob able, but do nothing to the basic reasons for these actions. "The turning point came for Oxford's citizens that Bloody Sun day on the Ole Miss campus. A month before the turning point probably came for an old man in Atlanta . . . three months before that, for a couple in Charleston . . . a year before that, for a college student in Raleigh . . . before that, for countless others, came mo ments of doubt, the questioning, and finally the acceptance that Ameri can ideals mean the .same thing for all citizens, that "all men are created equal" means all men are created equal, and that the South land can no longer deny basic hu man liberties to any portion of its population. Thus the turning point has come for many Southerners. For the last hundred years, more desperately in the last ten years, the South has been searching for a That this resignation in face of the power of government solves no basic feelings does not mean it should be stopped or slowed. It does mean that parallel though must be directed thought primarily by con cerned Southerners, because it is their conflict and their shame to ward reconciling the Southerner spiritually and emotionally to the Negro as a human being and as an economic, political and social fact. This though, and the actions steming from thought, should come primarily from Southerners because they know the internal conflict the Southerner understands why his best friend or his next-door neighbor or roommate is a segrega tionist. He understands the maze of religious and emotional reasons be hind the prejudice and stubborness. The Southern college student has an even greater obligation to help remove the stigma of racial preju- solution to its racial problems. More dice from his region and his people, accurately the search has been for The student is given four years of THE solution, the panacea which comparative freedom, with prime re will -end forever the agonizing con- sp0nsibility to his own education flict within the white Southerner in and out of the classroom and he between his racial attitudes on one is given these four years in a time hand, and on the other, his essen- of history, when his region is em tial belief in American principles broiled in a painful upheaval of the and the honest, generous spirit of nlfl nrfw Thek stnHpnt. is nffprprl tV.P the South. The Southerner is caught between what he believes he SHOULD think about the Negro, and what he actu ally feels. He is shipwrecked, lost in a sea of confusion and doubt. (But, as Ortega Gasset's "ship wrecked" man did, the Southerner "looked around for something to which to cling, and that tragic, ruthless glance, absolutely sincere, because it is a question of his sal vation, will cause him to bring or der into the chaos of his life. "These are the only genuine ideas: the ideas of the shipwreck ear 'The Southerner cannot end the conflict within himself by reading about the Federal troops in Missis sippi, or by hearing an argument ....... . 1 Preoccupation Force THE ONE" ANT) ONLY REAL TRUTH Letters To The Editors By EENEDICT BURR (Eds' Note: Mr. Eurr, the author of this new weekly column, comes to Carolina from St. Mary's Jr. College, wliere he was expelled for falsifying records, and more recent ly he was expelled for painting black a statue of Thomas Jefferson. For his protection, he is writing under a pseudonym.) With the recent turbulence at the University of Mississippi, a question of great relavence comes to the minds of all professional rabble rousers and hate-mongers. That is, ""What can I do on my particular campus to bring about similar hos tilities?" Although football games are good for raising students to the level of wild animals, they lack the neces sary ingredient to provide a genuine frenzy. This ingredient is, of course, a sense of Revolt, and is best mani fested in recent times by Ross Barnett. (The distinguished gover nor will surely go down with Bacun in and Trotsky as great exponents of anarchy.) Clearly then, students must revolt against the nearest form of govern ment, namely Student Government. Plans must be laid immediately for the violent overthrow of Graham Memorial, and the setting up of a Student Provisional Government. The first step in any good revolu tion is to gain control of the military and the prolitariat. Obviously the most aggressive, militarily-oriented group on campus is the sorority pledges who will be organized into a marching force. The prolatariat is, of course, the residents of Ehring haus dorm. (What other group is more oppressed and dissatisfied?) With the Ehringhaus boys rioting outside New East, the pledges will march in and purge the Student Legislature of all undesirables. (Which includes everyone, except Rufus Edmisten, who could never be undesirable to anyone.) The new revolutionary-controlled legislature will immediately supple ment its power by nationalizing all campus industry -and commerce: thus, placing in their control the Book Exchange, Y Court, and the greatest of the factories. Lenoir Hall. Obviously, all other political par ties will be made illegal, and the honor council will bo forced to im prison the SP and UP chairmen in the bell tower. It will not be necessary for the legislators to enact a bill of attaind er since the Campus Code already provides for the legality of mass arrests. The final step in the assumption of complete control is the overthrow of the executive branch. President Inmbn Allen masses h,is forces around Graham Memorial, prepar ing for violence. Nevertheless, he makes a last-minute plea for peace over WUXC. This is unfortunate, since no one ever listens to WUXC. At the mom ent he is reminding the rebellious students of their "responsibility," a correspondent from the Duke Chron icle is hit with an Early Times bot tle, and war erupts. As the violence reaches its pe:tk, and the President's forces are fir ing last year's G. M. calendars on the mob, a heroic figure appears to lead the retreating revolutionaries back on the student union. It's Hank Patterson! Ex-student government officer and unsuccessful candidate for legislature in last spring's elec tion, Hank makes a dramatic appeal, and leads the charging .students back against Allen's marshals. At the last moment, Graham Memorial is saved when seven re porters from the Ole Miss student newspaper arrive to give the Presi dent the added strength he needs. 'After a brutal show of force, the rebels are quelled. As the scene closes, the campus is in shambles, and executive troops have occupied Chapel Hill. Open Trials, YAF, And (Yes) Ross Barnett dtp sifeWar !eF JIM CLOTFELTER CHUCK WRYE Editors Bill Hobbs Associate Editor Wayne King Harry Lloyd Managing Editors BIO Wauiaett News Editor Ed Dupree Sports Editor Curry Kirkpatrick Asst. Spts. Ed. Chris Farran Matt Welsman Feature Editors Carry DeLung Night Editor Jim Wallace Photography Editor Mike Robinson Gary Blanchard Contributing Editors DAVE MORGAN Business Manager Gary Dalton Advertising Mgr. John Evans Circulation Mgr. Subscription Mgr. Is published eUy Dave Wysong , Tn Daily Ta jKeept Monday, examination periods and vmdkUxma. It Is entered as secand rlss matter In fche post office In Chapel ffil ti. C pursuant with Hie act of ldarcn s. iSTa. susecrtpaon rateai uo knowledge to deal with this situa tion offered by a campus which specializes in tolerance and under standing. On the racial problem as on no others the student is faced with a i i i i ji 11 situation wmcn is next aoor reaiiy, j it is within his house, within his dormitory, shadowing him wherever he goes. This is the only issue of moral and political consequence which the student cannot escape as long as he is in a school or a church or a theater or a restaurant or in a voting booth. The racial situation is one which must not be dragged out for cen turies it must be dispensed with, ended, so that no longer is it even a "question" or a "problem". Only when there is no longer a race prob lem, will America be able to confi dentally and completely center its attention upon the issues of war and peace, economic development, the world community of nations . . . As long as there is an Oxford and a Little Rock there will be little un derstanding abroad of the American system of democracy. Close to home, as long as there is an Oxford, busi ness will be troubled . . . state and local and Federal government will be in constant friction . . . There wTill be no peace until the ever-present sword of racial agitation is taken from over our heads. And the Southern student must assume a leading responsibility in this. TT' T J 1 X. i J i -I jiiiicii muuciil must coimuct ms personal "search", must resolve his personal conflict, and then aid the region in resolving its broader con flict. rrn i je ine decisions ana actions ot tnese hipwrecked Southerners are "the per semester, taper year. i - iheSJ gh&&22fr2i I ony genuine ideas", in Ortega's utilizes the services of tb News Bu reau ot thm University ot North Caro lina. fuhnshed by the Publications Board sf the University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill. H.G. words. These will be the decisions and actions bv which the South ad vances and eventuallv, finds its peace. (JC) 'Troika' Proposal And Open Trials In the current debate raging on campus concerning increased openness of Honor Council trials, proponents of this amendment stress the educational value to be derived from such procedures. The need for and the merit of increased knowl edge by the student body of the work of the Councils cannot be dis puted. To accomplish this, legisla tion soon to be proposed would pro vide that all trials would be open except in those cases which a select ed 'troika' deemed openness and publication unwise, even within the limits of the amendment. Carefully thought-out limitations and restric tions present in the bill are designed to provide adequate information to the student body while completely protecting the identity of the de fendant. My concern here is prim arily with the mechanism devised to accomplish this, namely the 'troika' concept. With this in mind, let us ask, "Why are closed trials currently pro vided for?" Of the many reasons that could be given, one of the most important is that certian offense in herently are best handled in this manner, experience validating in this Examples here include certain cases handled by the Women's Council plus those involving well-known stu dent body personalities. Yet in con cern for fairness, ready access has been provided all defendants to closed trials. Secondly, many feel that the bad connotation associated with any appearance before the Councils, whether as witness or de fendant, is greatly reduced or elim inated in closed trials. In the case of the guilt defendant, it is often felt that the council is better able to achieve its twin objectives of providing a sentence balanced by both corrective and punitive ele ments. Finally, the present right y which allows each defendant to de cide the question of the openness of his trial is one which should not be dismissed lightly, as the proposed amendment would do. For here, the defendant is forced to decide between the validity of his reasons for a closed trial and the validity of the student body's interest in the pro ceedings of the Councils. This priv ilege he should always have! In re sponse to those who disagree, of what value then is student govern ment if it removes the opportunity for responsible decision-making from the defendant's rights? Is not the defendant the one who may most need to grow in responsible living? Brief mention has been made of some of the reasons behind the cur rent tradition of closed trials and why ready access to them should always be available. Admittedly, the number of open trials in the past has been small. WHY? The word ing of the constitution 'favoring closed trials and the attitude thus conveyed its partially responsible. But also involved, whether justifiably or not, is a lack of confidence in the Daily Tar Heel to responsibly handle open trials. In view of this tendency, the farmers of the "open' amdement included the 'troika' de vice to insure increased access to Council trials. Thus, one is forced to wonder what kind of proposal this is that needs such a crutch! Is the proposed amendment strong enough to protect the individual's identity or not? And if so, then why do the amendment's proponents lack such confidence in its merits that they feel compelled to abolish the right of each defendant to decide for him self the openess of his trial? If the bill would be as beneficiary as its advocates proclaim, then why is there this unwillingness to work to sell and persuade fellow students of the merits and strong points of the proposal. Why do proponents feel they must 'cram this amend ment down the student's throat? If it is that good and that soundly conceived and administered, then surely the amendment can stand on its own, without any crutch! Cor rectly handled and communicated, it can receive voluntary endorse ment from each defendant, while at the same time, providing the op portunity for free, responsible decision-making by each student as to his responsibility to his fellow students for their knowledge of Hon or Council transactions. The proposed amendment does not need such a crutch as the 'troika'. Except for that particular detail, it is quite strong, well-conceived, and thought-out. Yet, even here it can not be assumed perfect. Thus, it nais crucial to provide an effective y check against that which currently J seems inconceivable, namely the flagrant abuse of the amendment's purpose via some unforeseen loop hole or carelessness in handling. Let us continue to provide for ready ac cess to closed trials by any student on his own volition. Let us not ask the student body to forfeit the op portunity for responsible decision making presently available. Rather, let us shift the present emphasis to one of "open trials unless the de fendant reouests a closed one." Let us work for increased conviction among the students as to the merits and Guarantees of this proposal while simultaneously retaining the 'check of the individual decision to insure protection of personal rights. John Mitch ener Barnett And Co. Real Enemies To The Editors: Is the American Legion really in terested in strengthening America and fighting Communism? If so, why doesn't it "investigate" the real treats to our security those who have openly advocated rebellion against our government, defamed our world image as a "de mocracy", and furnished the Com munists with valuable propaganda weapons. With Ross Barnett and his sup porters doing so much to weaken America and help its enemies, why does the Legion make such a fuss over a harmless bunch of left-wing college kids? Craig Smith Bettina Smith YAF Meeting Slated Today To the Editors: The first annual convention of Young Americans for Freedom, America's leading conservative youth organization, was held in New York City on September 27, 28, and 29. Robert Bauman of Washington, D. C, a law student at Georgetown University was elected to a two year term as National Chairman, and David Jones of St. Petersburg, Fla. was elected to the post of Southern Regional Chairman. Prom inent speakers at the convention in cluded William F. Buckley, Jr., edi tor of National Review, and Rep. William Cramer (Rep.-Fla.). Sam Jones and Mike Jaffe attended as representatives of the local YAF Chapter. Several resolutions were passed by the convention, putting YAF on record as holding the following posi tions: Supporting in full the principle of freedom of association in fratern al organizations, and strongly con demning any actions by college ad ministrations tending to (lirninish the independence of fraternities and sororities in regard to their mem bership policies. Favoring the immediate activa tion by the U. S. government oT a total armed blockade of Communist Cuba, and the establishment of a policy which would demand the full cooperation of our allies in such endeavor. Supporting President Hoover's proposal for the formation of a "Council of Free Nations," &e mem bership of which should consist on ly of those nations which are dedi cated to freedom and opposed to Communism. Supporting the adoption of a constitutional amendment which would have the effect of allowing state or local school boards to pro vide for the saying of non-sectarian prayers in public schools, thus over ruling the recent decision of the Su preme Court in Engle v. Vitale (the "school prayer" case). The UNC Chapter of YAF will hold its first meeting of this semes ter Thursday, October 18, at 7:30 p.m., in the Law School Courtroom. The program will consist of a dis cussion of plans for the coming year, and the playing of recordings of speeches by Senators Barry Gold water and John Tower. The public is invited to attend all YAF meet ings. Mike Jaffe Whv Send Best Men To Oxford To the Editors: Here is an excerpt from the Oc tober 15th edition of the U. S. News and World Report; draw your own conclusions. "Some comment is heard about how the U. S. Joint Chiefs of Staff rate troop requirements forthe jobs they do. In Vietnam, for a real war, fewer than 10,000 American military personnel of all kinds have been involved. In West Berlin are about 6,000 U. S. Troops. Oxford, Miss., however, got 16,000, including some of America's toughest combat troops." And our youth in such orry phy sical shape! Norwood Taylor Defense Of Letter On Individualism To the Editors: I had no idea that my article "Thank God for Barnett" published in the DTH would bring so much comment both by letters to the pap er and in conversation. I am refer ring specifically to the letters writ ten by Mr. John Madsen and Mr. J. Stogowski. Thank you very much, Mr. Mad sen, for your concern about my let ter. I plainly stated ttiat Meredith was an individual. Your letter was entitled 'Meredith 1 is Individual loo", a fact that you said I had overlooked. To quote my article, "In a sense Meredith is an individ ual." Obviously, Mr. Madsen, you too are an individual in that you arc you are perhaps the only student enrolled at Carolina that can't read. As for you, Mr. Stogowski, and I hope I did spell that correctly, you missed the whole point of my arti cle. Thank you for the compliment in considering me a "world-conquering" freshman, but flattery will be of no avail. I was not comparing Barnett and Luther, I was trying to illustrate my idea of an individ ual. I realize now that even by drawing a picture some people could never understand my point. I don't know what level of high school or college you have reached, Mr. Stogow.ski, but there is a word to describe your writing. The best de scription I could give uouid be sopliomoric. Joe Exum Meredith Prolest Didn't Cost Slate In reference to the editorial clip ping sent to the DTH from William sfon, N. C. "Enterprise," I woukl like to offer a "humble" rebuttal to the severe slashings aimed at our esteemed University. Having been accompanied by a raft of Nazi propaganda and a let ter by an obvious John Bircher, the clipping had as its purpose evident ly to motivate someone into cur tailing our liberal "antics."" May I remind the writer that the Minute For Meredith demoastration was no part of a so-called "program" laid down by the administration to en hance our intellectual capacity. Bat, on the other hand, it was held by a group of students who, accord ing to the writer, were "still wet behind the ears" for the mere value of showing INTEREST and CON CERN for what is going on in our land of bountiful, equal opportunity and prosperity. I am very distressed that the peo ple in the backwoods are disgusted by our lack of concern for educa tion. I might add that we were ut terly overcome by their interest and generosity last year when the Bond Issue went down to a smashing de feat! They claim they are "the peo ple who pay the tax to support such assinine antics;" however;- to my knowledge and the knowledge of those involved, the Meredith dem stration did not cost ANYONE 'not even the Daily Tar Heel editors) one red cent. Since when have the right to assemble and the freedom of dis sension guaranteed by tMe Constitu tion of the United States became "things foreign to education"? Johnsye Massenburg

Page Text

This is the computer-generated OCR text representation of this newspaper page. It may be empty, if no text could be automatically recognized. This data is also available in Plain Text and XML formats.

Return to page view